


You Can't Save Me From Myself

by teamheretic



Category: Legacies (TV 2018)
Genre: F/F, Hizzie are each other's anchors, Lizzie needs a hug, caroline to the rescue, heretic!lizzie, hizzie endgame, slow burn kinda, this should be canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-11
Updated: 2020-08-30
Packaged: 2021-03-05 00:02:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 31,623
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25205164
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/teamheretic/pseuds/teamheretic
Summary: Lizzie chooses to sacrifice herself and turns into a vampire to stop the Merge. She thought she could handle the heightened emotions, but the voices in her head had become too much to bear. She shuts off her humanity and vows to keep it a secret. How long can she maintain her facade?Meanwhile, Hope has broken up with Landon after realizing she has fallen for a certain blonde siphoner. However her plans of confessing her feelings have been put on hold when Lizzie starts acting strange. Can Hope figure out what’s wrong and pull Lizzie out of the darkness?
Relationships: Hope Mikaelson/Lizzie Saltzman
Comments: 117
Kudos: 285





	1. An Act of Selflessness

**Author's Note:**

> TW for Suicide (happens for a split second but it's there)
> 
> This chapter is just Lizzie contemplating her life

Lizzie was sitting on the roof of the school, drinking from a bottle of bourbon that she stole from her dad’s office. Clutched in her left hand was a vial of Hope’s blood...that she also stole from her father’s possession.

She looked up at the sky. The moon was bright and there were quite a few stars out tonight. She could just make out a few constellations: Orion’s Belt, Canis Major, and Gemini. She sighed. Just another reminder of why she’s out here instead of the comfort of her own bed; or Hope’s for that matter.

They had been spending a lot of time together, watching movies all night, going into town, sleeping over - even more so since Hope dumped the hobbit. Lizzie wasn’t going to lie to herself and pretend that she wasn’t relieved; she liked the tribrid, she always had, but she had also choked down her feelings. Her attempts of becoming Hope’s friend at the ages of five, nine, and thirteen didn’t do much for her confidence. Josie admitting she torched half the school because of her crush on Hope and accusing Lizzie of stealing her crushes was a low blow.

_That’s not fair,_ Lizzie thought. _I liked her first._

Of course Lizzie had the horrific luck of finding out that Josie’s feelings were reciprocated. Josie didn’t even have to try and people would fall for her. Lizzie didn’t want to think about what would’ve happened had Hope read that letter. Lizzie looked up at the moon again. It was a half-moon, a First Quarter.

_How fitting, just like me and my sister. Opposite sides of the same coin. One of us shrouded in darkness._

Even though they were twins they couldn’t be more different, whether it’s their personalities, physical appearances, or literally anything else. Josie was kind, calm, and patient; always willing to listen and help others. Lizzie was bitchy, snarky, and not to mention she considered herself to be mentally unstable. Josie had her moments of course, like when she set her ex on fire and played with dark magic ( _with Hope,_ Lizzie bitterly reminded herself). Lizzie remembered Dark Josie, and how no one gave up trying to save her, even when she literally killed Alyssa Chang and tried to force the Merge.

_Would everyone else do the same if it were me? Or would they kill me, leaving me god-knows-where to die?_

Maybe MG wouldn’t give up on her. He always seemed to see the good in her, but Lizzie knew that she was too much for that sweet boy to deal with. It didn’t sit right with Lizzie, how everyone forgave Josie and brushed everything under the rug; no one seemed to realize that she wasn’t _possessed_ and that Dark Josie _was_ Josie, a part of her that she kept locked away, just brought out by the effects of dark magic. On the other hand, if it were Dark Lizzie, her father would’ve had Josie make another prison world just for her. Lizzie could be bitter all she wanted, but she knew that the problem wasn’t the dark magic, it was the Merge; all Dark Josie wanted to do was to get the Merge over with. Lizzie couldn’t blame her.

She was tired of her family worrying about their fate; she was tired of her dad throwing himself into work trying not to worry about losing one of his daughters, of Josie having nightmares, and of her mom’s extended absence. That was what hurt Lizzie the most, her mom being gone. She knew it was for their own good, since her mom was more equipped to find a solution, but it had been years at this point. At first Lizzie had hope, hope that her mom would find a cure and come home and that everything would be back to normal. Lizzie was naive to think that way; in the entire history of the Gemini Coven, no one had found a solution, so why would her parents’ efforts yield different results? A solution would’ve saved her biological mother from a horrible fate, and maybe her father wouldn’t be living with a broken heart. Maybe her own sister wouldn’t have tried to kill her.

Lizzie’s thoughts drifted to her father. She loved him, she really did, but he had his flaws. She‘ll probably never get over him prioritizing Hope over his daughters, never taking her seriously, and treating her episodes like something he just had to deal with occasionally. He kept the Merge a secret for 16 years and he also knew that becoming a vampire ( _or heretic, whatever._ Lizzie didn’t care for technicalities) was the only foolproof way of stopping it altogether; he didn’t even want to give them the choice. Her mother was also to blame for all these Merge secrets as well, but if there’s a way to stop the Merge and keep _both_ her and Josie alive, then why didn’t they tell us that this was an option? Good thing Lizzie was taking things into her own hands. Nevertheless, her dad tried to be a good father, and Lizzie couldn’t ask for more than he could give. He was only human after all - a human stuck in a supernatural world.

_He has every reason not to like me. He didn’t ask for an unstable daughter who used to blame him for every mild inconvenience. Even worse, Josie and I are the reminders of a woman he no longer has; twin daughters that were born into a coven that ruined his life._

It’s during her episodes where she missed her mother the most. Her dad couldn’t handle an out-of-control Lizzie, but her mother could. Her mom took her away, got her help, and was always there for her. But then she left, and Josie was left to pick up the pieces.

_After tonight, Mom can come home,_ Lizzie reassured herself. _She can help me - with the blood drinking, compulsion, all of it. Dad can relax and Josie can finally sleep at night. I’m going to fix this. Maybe Hope could help me too._

Lizzie remembered the night Hope activated her vampire side, resulting from a failed mission with her father. Hope got heavily injured fighting some monster, and by the time they got back to the school she was already unconscious. Her dad had carried Hope to her own room, where Lizzie watched over her the entire night. She remembered the yellow eyes, fangs, and black veins; Lizzie would never admit it, but she may or may not have been mildly turned on at the sight of an all-powerful Hope. After that night they kept getting closer and closer. Lizzie knew that Hope was grateful, and beyond happy, that Lizzie wasn’t scared of her, that she didn’t run for the hills as soon as she woke up. Unlike that fire chicken Landon, who was freaked out, which led to Hope breaking up with him.

Immersed in her thoughts, Lizzie had lost track of time. She knew she needed to do this before Hope woke up from the nightly nightmare that she had, which was usually around 3 am. _Of course she’d wake up right at the witching hour,_ Lizzie laughed to herself. 

_“You’re not just the school’s resident hero, you’re also the school’s prison warden!”, Lizzie teased Hope. “Always listening, watching, lurking...”_

_“Am not! I just_ happen _to wake up at 3 in the morning most nights.”, Hope tried to defend herself. “And I...also happen to walk around the school making sure everyone’s safe.”_

_Lizzie snorted. “Creep.” Hope then proceeded to throw a book at her._

Lizzie checked her phone. It was 2:38. She let out a breath. The bottle of bourbon was empty, and Lizzie was definitely drunk; all that was left to do was to chug the vial of blood and jump off the damn roof. Come on Saltzman, be the selfless one this time. Make it count. Lizzie knew she was stalling, but for what? She wasn’t nervous; well, it’s not every day you get to change species...or die.

She uncapped the vial, and drank. _Gross, but also...I just drank blood from the girl that I like. My life couldn’t get any weirder._

Lizzie shook her head and looked down. It didn’t _look_ like she was high up, but she didn’t have the ability to heal like werewolves and vampires (not yet at least), and this fall could kill a regular human, which she practically was without a magic source; if a regular witch were fast enough they could conjure up a protection spell. She had anticipated that the impact was going to hurt, but it was only going to be for a split second.

So she leaned forward, and jumped.


	2. Control

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for the comments on the last chapter! You're all very kind.  
> Here's another quick chapter since it was already written.

_ Ow,  _ was Lizzie’s first thought when she regained consciousness. She felt like someone had taken a sledgehammer to her left temple; she touched her head and it felt wet. Looking at her hand she found it covered in blood, and her hair was matted and sticky. Luckily, the wound had already healed, but there was a pool of blood around her head. Getting up, she casted a quick spell to clean her hair and another one to eliminate any trace of blood from the ground.

Once Lizzie was on her feet she felt incredibly dizzy; she had a raging headache, the lights at the front of the school were too bright, and even the moon that she had spent hours looking at earlier burned her eyes. She could also smell everything a bit _too much._ If Lizzie didn’t know any better she’d think she was on drugs. Figuring that it would subside, she looked around; it was still dark out - how long she was dead for, she didn’t know, just grateful that some kid didn’t stumble upon her body. 

Lizzie had two choices here: go back inside and risk running into Hope or anyone else who could catch the faint scent of blood that was still on her, or crash at the Old Mill for a few hours. Of course she chose the latter; however she quickly realized that she was _starving._ Switching up her plans she decided to go into town and see if the Grill was open for breakfast yet. 

Arriving at the town square she looked up at the clock tower - it was almost 6 am. The Grill wouldn’t be open until 7:30, so she turned around to go back to the Mill and try to take a nap. Suddenly she saw something move out of the corner of her eye, she turned her head and let out a breath when it was just a person on their morning jog. Her vision was a bit blurry, but it looked like this person was moving towards her. 

“Hey, are you okay?” It was a man. Once he got close enough Lizzie could see the concern on his face. “You have blood on your shirt, are you hurt?” 

Lizzie looked down and cursed herself when she realized that she didn’t clean the blood off her clothes. She also more than likely looked very pale. “Uh yes! Yes I’m fine, I-I just fell...in the woods. I was on a walk.” 

The man didn’t seem to buy her story, but he probably didn’t have another explanation as to why she was all bloody and frail. “Are you sure? I can take you to the hospital.” 

As he stepped closer, Lizzie’s heart started beating rapidly. She could see the sweat dripping off his forehead, traveling down his neck where his vein was protruding. She couldn’t hear her own heart anymore, but she could hear _his._ His heart was beating hard, still calming down after his jog. Lizzie imagined all of the veins leading to and away from his heart, following a specific line up to his neck and could practically hear the blood rushing. Before she knew it she stepped forward and sunk her new fangs into his neck. 

The man tried yelling for help, but the sun had not risen and there was no one around; Lizzie couldn’t control herself - she couldn’t _stop._ She realized that she wasn’t hungry for food, but for blood. The man went limp in her arms. She stepped away only to see him collapse to the ground, lifeless. He was pale, his eyes were still open, and there were two holes in his neck. 

Lizzie, like any regular new vampire who had just sucked the life out of someone, completely freaked out. She used her newfound strength to pick up the man’s body, and tried using vamp speed to reach the dumpsters behind the Grill. She underestimated her speed because she nearly ran right through the Grill’s front door. After what seemed like eternity, she finally reached one of the dumpsters, threw the lid open, and tossed the body inside. She knew someone would find the body eventually, but looking at the fang marks they would assume some animal killed him. They’d never figure out how his body got into the dumpster, however. 

After Lizzie closed the lid of the dumpster she sped as far away as possible, only stopping when she ran into a tree. She slid down the tree, sitting on the ground, and brought her knees up to her chest. Her breathing was shallow and rapid; her mind felt like it was shattering. 

_I killed him. I killed someone. He was only trying to help me and I killed him. He probably had a family. I’m a monster!_ Lizzie was sobbing, clutching her head in her hands. _How am I going to face anyone? Dad? Josie? Hope would never look at me the same way. Mom would be disappointed._

There was now another voice in her head, calmer and quieter. 

_You don’t have to feel._ It was definitely her subconscious; she wasn’t possessed, and the voice sounded like her own, just more serene. Lizzie had never heard this voice before - it was soothing, and she found herself listening to it.

_There’s only one way you can face your family now. Turn it off...make all the nasty emotions go away._

Lizzie shook her head; turning off her humanity also meant giving up her humanity. She didn’t want to stop loving her family, she didn’t want the butterflies she felt in her stomach whenever she saw Hope to go away, and she didn't want to stop feeling the excitement of seeing her mother again. She wanted to feel.

_ But,  _ she thought.  _ When have I ever been in control of my emotions? What good have my episodes done for anyone? I don’t want to hurt anyone anymore.  _

The voice was back, more aggressive this time.  _ Shut it off, Elizabeth. Why are you holding back for a family that doesn’t care about you? _

Lizzie felt the tears streaming down her face.  _ That’s not true. Stop, please. _

The voice just wouldn’t go away. _ You’re crazy and a murderer. This way, you’d be a little less broken.  _

Lizzie couldn’t take it anymore. “SHUT UP! _ ”,  _ she screamed into the woods. A wave of magic was released and blew up every tree in it’s path; she now found herself sitting in a clearing, no longer able to hide. The moon was sinking, making way for the sun to rise in the distance. Would she follow the moon into the darkness, or burn in the sun? 

She made her choice; she closed her eyes, and let everything go.

* * *

Hope was sitting in the cafeteria, trying, and failing, to eat her breakfast. She felt someone plop down next to her.

“Food is for eating, not playing.” It was Josie. She had dark circles under her eyes, looking like she hadn’t slept in days. “Everything alright?”

Hope sighed. “Yeah, I just had a nightmare last night that left me a little rattled.” Little did she know that it wasn’t a nightmare, it was a vision - a vision of Lizzie on the roof, drinking, and ultimately jumping. Hope didn’t go back to sleep afterwards; she wanted to go check on Lizzie, but didn’t want to wake up the twins. 

“It was just a nightmare, Hope. Everyone’s okay.”, Josie tried to reassure her. “By the way, have you seen Lizzie?”

Hope’s head shot straight up. “She wasn’t with you last night?”

Josie shrugged. “She was there when I went to bed, but when I woke up she was gone.”

Hope’s anxiety spiked. Lizzie hadn’t been seen since last night, and she wasn’t much of a morning person, so there was no way she would’ve gotten up before Josie; it was now 9 am and there was no sign of Lizzie. Her nightmare popped back into her head; it had truly scared her, more than any other nightmare she had ever had. She really cared about the blonde, and had learned over time to pick up on cues that let her know that Lizzie wasn’t okay, and vice versa. Hope wanted to believe that Lizzie would come to her if things got really bad. Not that Lizzie knew it, but the main reason why Hope had broken up with Landon was because she had fallen for Lizzie. It had been years in the making; they had their differences, but late night talks, hugs, and a number of dangerous life-or-death situations had brought out feelings in Hope that she didn’t even know she had. Or did she? Hope was still trying to figure that out. 

Over the years, Hope had seen the best, as well as the worst, parts of Lizzie. She was a witness to a number of episodes and other behaviors that she had never seen anyone else deal with; it hurt Hope, to know that Lizzie was in pain, and that no one, not even Hope herself, could even begin to understand the thoughts that ran rampant through Lizzie’s mind. Lizzie used this to her advantage, though. Whenever Hope was having a hard time Lizzie always knew what to say and do that would make her feel better, because Lizzie knew how damaging your own thoughts could be, how quickly you could spiral. With Lizzie she never felt alone, she felt _understood_ ; with Landon she always felt like she was walking on eggshells. The last straw was when she activated her vampire side; when Landon had seen her face, fangs and all, he was scared - worried that his own girlfriend would hurt him. It had hurt Hope more, though, and figured that she couldn’t be with someone who couldn’t handle every part of her. She wasn’t as affected as she should've been, as Hope knew that her heart already belonged to a certain blonde. Lizzie wasn’t scared of her, Lizzie wouldn’t run away. 

Hope’s thoughts were interrupted by Josie’s voice. “Earth to Hope, come on, eat. You look a bit pale.” 

“Says the one who looks like she hasn’t slept in three days.” 

Josie sighed. “I guess we’re all having nightmares. Maybe I should ask Dad if there’s something going around?” 

Hope laughed. She loved the twins’ sense of humor and ability to make her laugh; sometimes she can’t believe that she had developed feelings for both of them at different points in her life. _Damn Saltzmans,_ Hope thought. _Always turning heads and bringing everyone to their knees._

She looked up at the clock. “I should get to class. Let me know if you see Lizzie.”

Josie nodded. When Hope had left, she rolled her eyes. Josie, and everyone else with working eyeballs, could see that there was something going on between her sister and Hope. But both of them were stubborn idiots; needless to say they were perfect for each other. Josie had been waiting for one of them to crack and make a move, and she even had a betting pool going on with MG. She finished her breakfast and headed to her room. She had a free period before lunch, and figured she might as well take a nap. _Hopefully Lizzie shows up soon,_ Josie thought. _So Hope doesn’t lose her mind._

Meanwhile Hope found herself looking for blonde hair on her way to class, and she took one last look around before she entered her classroom. She told herself that if Lizzie doesn’t show up to lunch, then Hope was going to go look for Lizzie herself. 


	3. The First Day

After Lizzie had flipped the switch, she got up and realized that the sun was rapidly rising. She didn’t have a daylight ring so she vamp sped up to the school; it was later in the morning and some of the students were already awake and getting ready for class.

“ _Invisique_.”, she muttered. She slipped through the door as quietly as possible and made her way back to her room. She opened the door to her room and saw that Josie was still quietly sleeping. Lizzie grabbed some clothes and went to the showers; there was no one in there so she took the opportunity to burn her blood-stained clothes. After she showered she went back to her room and thanked whoever that Josie had not stirred. Lizzie then made a daylight ring for herself.

She couldn’t stay in the room, Josie would ask too many questions when she woke up. Lizzie grabbed some books and her bag and headed out to the Mill; if anyone asked she went to the Mill to do some homework she forgot to do, and didn’t want to wake her sister. She could say that she fell asleep while working. She arrived and sat down to think. She thought about the events from this morning; she literally died, fed on a human, and turned off her humanity. She then realized that she didn’t care - she was hungry, and needed human blood to complete the transition. The man was just collateral.

_It’s not my fault he was at the wrong place at the wrong time,_ Lizzie thought. _If it wasn’t him it would’ve been someone else._

She knew she needed a plan. Telling her friends and family she became a vampire that night, killed someone, and switched off her emotions could get her locked up in a shiny new prison world for sure, especially since she was a hybrid now and could still do magic; her father would see her as a danger to the school. Lizzie rolled her eyes. _I could kill the old drunk with a snap of my fingers._ Everyone would see her as weak for turning off her humanity; proving to them that she was too “unstable” and couldn’t handle being a vampire; that’s exactly why she did it, but no one needed to know, and she didn’t even regret it. She couldn’t let them find out. Lizzie smirked. _Maybe I should turn this into a little game - see how long these idiots figure out that I’m a blood-thirsty, humanity-less creature of the night. I guess Mom could stay away a little longer, and Dad can keep himself occupied with worrying about the Merge. He’s been uptight about it my entire life, what’s a little longer?_

Her main problems were Hope and Josie; both of them knew her like the back of their hands, and they would suspect that something was wrong with her, starting with the dead look in her eyes. She needed to stay away from Hope as much as possible - the girl was smart, and being partially a vampire herself, she’d know something was up - but she’d get suspicious and ask why Lizzie was avoiding her. Lizzie needed to find a delicate balance; spend just enough time with Hope and pretend like the Lizzie she knew was still there in order to keep any questions at bay. Dealing with Josie would be a little easier, yes they lived in the same room but she was merely a witch - no werewolf or vampire smell or hearing.

_I guess Josie’s the weak twin now. I don’t need to siphon anymore. I can’t believe I was ever that useless._ Lizzie could still siphon the life out of someone if she wanted to; maybe she could test that out if someone pissed her off. Nevertheless, Lizzie knew she needed to make her little act convincing - she still had to siphon in front of everyone and prevent herself from desiccating when she got hungry. The one thing Lizzie refused to do was drink the school’s supply of blood; she’d get caught, and what would be the point of being a secret vampire if she couldn’t feed on humans without anyone knowing? She also needed to figure out the compulsion thing. She sighed. _This was going to be a lot of work, but what’s a little work when I can have a lot of fun? I can be free of all of Dad’s dumb rules and I can walk around as a witch-vampire hybrid without anyone even knowing, second in power only to Hope. Maybe sometime soon I can show them how wrong they were for underestimating me._

Lizzie decided that she wouldn’t think about it too much, and that she would figure things out over time. She yawned; with the night she had, she was exhausted. She figured that she’d take a nap right there, so she wouldn’t one hundred percent be lying as to why she didn’t show up for her morning classes.

She laid down on the couch, and let sleep claim her.

* * *

When Lizzie woke up, the sun was high in the sky.

_It’s probably noon, I should get back._ She plastered on a winning smile, gathered her stuff, and left the Mill. It was time to put her plan into action.

Lizzie entered the school and immediately her senses were overloaded. She could hear numerous voices, laughing and talking, the slam of books being closed, as well as the clanking of dishes from the cafeteria, all at once; she almost gagged at the scent of the werewolves that had just gotten out of gym class mixed in with the potions that were being brewed in the potions class down the hall. Her first few days as a vampire were going to be rough. She tried not to cover her ears or her nose, and strutted down the hall as usual. She does still own the place, after all. She entered the cafeteria and tried to spot a familiar auburn-haired girl. She hoped that she would get through this first obstacle of her plan. When she had found Hope, she grabbed a tray, put whatever food she could find on it, and went to join Hope at her table.

Hope had been anxiously looking around to see if she could spot Lizzie. Hope was five seconds away from bolting through the front door to look for her when she heard a familiar voice.

“Hi, Hope!” Lizzie said, sitting down. She tried not to flinch. Was she too enthusiastic? Did she sound too friendly? Or should she have responded with something witty? Lizzie was too busy asking herself questions that she didn’t notice Hope responding to her.

“Liz, are you okay? You spaced out for a second.” Hope was looking right into Lizzie’s eyes trying to read her and the logical thing to do was to look away. The eyes were the windows to the soul, and well, Lizzie currently didn’t have one. But being stubborn was ingrained in her entire being, so she faced Hope head on.

“Sorry, just a bit tired, I guess.” Hope looked at her one last time to try and dig any secrets out of her, but relented.

“Josie said you weren’t in your room when she woke up. Where did you go?”

_Here we go._ “I was getting ready for bed and I realized that I forgot to do some history homework. Josie was already asleep and I didn’t want to wake her so I went to the Old Mill. I must’ve fallen asleep because that’s where I woke up not even an hour ago.”

Hope’s eyes softened. “You could’ve come to my room. You know you’re always welcome there. Besides, it’s not like I have a sleep schedule anyway.” 

Lizzie gave her a small smile. “I guess I didn’t think of that. I just didn’t feel like bothering anyone.” She added in a shrug for good measure.

Thinking about her “nightmare”, Hope reached out to Lizzie and pulled her in for a hug. “You could never bother me. If you need something I’m always here.” 

Lizzie didn’t expect such affection from the tribrid. She had tensed for a second, but quickly relaxed, hugged her back, and hoped that Hope didn’t notice. “Thank you, Hope, I really appreciate it.”

Hope gave her a warm smile. Lizzie noticed that Hope was being nicer than usual. Normally, this would be the time where they would exchange witty banter or engage in a good-natured snark-off. Lizzie internally shook her head. She couldn’t unnecessarily bother herself with other people’s problems. If there was something wrong Hope would either tell her or figure it out herself. No need to make Lizzie’s life more complicated than it needs to be. So, Lizzie decided to play the nice card as well. 

“How about we finish up here and I’ll walk you to class?”

Hope’s eyes practically lit up like a Christmas tree after hearing Lizzie’s offer. They each finished their meals, cleaned up, and headed off to finish the second half of their day.

After Lizzie was done with her last class, she entered her room and collapsed on her bed. Pretending to be her usual high-maintenance self was exhausting to say the least. Of all the things she could’ve been with her humanity on, she just had to be talkative, outgoing, and confident; she wondered why she even bothered to project that image of herself. It didn’t make her any more liked than she would’ve been had she just kept her mouth shut like her sister. Lizzie scoffed at herself for walking around with the confidence she never had. Maybe it was her coping mechanism; if she were loud enough she wouldn’t be able to hear the horrible voices in her head. If she let herself be too quiet, the voices would be constantly prevalent, causing her to have episodes every five minutes.

_At least I’m aware of my flaws._ Lizzie then thought of her sister; how everyone liked her because she was timid and cute. Lizzie came to the conclusion that her twin was a coward.

“ _You’re happy to hide, and let me be the one that they hate.”,_ she remembers telling Josie. She still stood by that statement. If there was one thing about Lizzie that she actually liked about herself, it was that she was rarely ever wrong. Lizzie was brutally honest, never shying away from confrontation, and always expressed what she felt; these were qualities that people claim to admire in someone, however it seemed to be the opposite for her. Lizzie was ostracized, mocked, ridiculed, and called a bitch for being herself, and for things she couldn’t control. Time and time again she let herself be vulnerable, yelled at the top of her lungs for everyone to hear, yet she had nothing to show for it. Her sister, on the other hand, bottled things up until she nearly destroyed the school, always afraid of showing how she really felt. Lizzie was called selfish, was accused of treating her sister badly, but it wasn’t Lizzie’s fault that Josie didn’t have a spine. If she did, things would probably be different - maybe Lizzie wouldn’t have jumped from the roof, or maybe Hope’s room wouldn’t have been reduced to ashes. Her sister’s destructive nature had ruined more things for people than Lizzie ever could. Lizzie knew that she couldn’t bring herself to hate her sister, the poor thing practically became her babysitter after her mom had skipped town. No, she _pitied_ her twin. Josie didn’t know it, but as soon as Lizzie woke up a vampire that fateful morning, she was on her own, no longer having a shadow to hide under.

Lizzie heard the turning of a doorknob, the subject of her thoughts walking into the room.

“Lizzie! Where have you been?”, said Josie throwing her stuff onto her bed and sitting down. Like Hope, Josie also failed to notice the subtle changes in her; the paler skin, the emotionless eyes, the subtle dark circles under them. _Maybe,_ Lizzie thought, _they don’t know me as well as I thought they did._ Before, that would’ve bothered her, but now it just made her life easier.

She told Josie the same story she gave to Hope earlier. Josie seemed surprised at her sister’s consideration. Lizzie fought the urge to roll her eyes. _I practically killed myself to give you a chance at life. After I decide to tell everyone I’m never going to let you forget it, Josette._

“Why are you surprised, Josie?" Lizzie asked. "You know very well that I’ve been trying to be a nicer person.” 

“It just catches me off guard, sometimes. But anyway, do you have any plans for today?”

“Nope. Do you want to go to the Grill and get some food? I’m hungry.” Lizzie hadn’t had any blood since that morning and her throat was dry. She figured some actual food would keep her bloodthirst at bay.

“You didn’t hear? They found a body behind the Grill and they’ve closed off the restaurant. Dad talked to Mayor Donovan and he’s not letting anyone off campus for the rest of the day.” Lizzie raised her eyebrows at this new information. _They found the body so soon? It hasn’t even been 12 hours._

She pretended to be dramatic and threw her head onto her pillows. “But I’m _starving!_ ” 

“Lizzie, they found a dead person in a dumpster, the Grill has been declared a crime scene, and you're worried about food?”, said Josie, laughing. 

Lizzie groaned. All she could think about was how difficult it was going to be to feed tonight. Knowing her dad, he’ll have someone watching the gate, and even if she does get into town, the sheriff will be on high alert, confronting anyone who stays out after dark. Despite all of these challenges, Lizzie’s not the type to give up; the predator never gives up on its prey, and Lizzie refused to return to the school unless she’s had a human-sized blood bag for dinner.

For now, she’ll spend the afternoon with her sister, maybe visit her father in his office, and get some homework done before she runs off into the night. Her plan seemed to be going better than she thought, and she was looking forward to testing out her new abilities after sunset. 

Later that night, with her sister fast asleep on the other side of the room, Lizzie slipped out of the school, ready for the hunt.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments are always encouraged (and appreciated)!


	4. The Revelation

It had been a month since Lizzie became a vampire. She was honestly thriving; she was doing even better in her classes (thanks to the ability to speed read), giving her more time to practice and learn new spells, and had gotten a hold of her new powers. She was now able to control her vamp speed, learned to finely tune her hearing, and had mastered the art of compulsion after numerous attempts. The first few unsuccessful tries led to several more bodies for the sheriff to discover, but once she got the hang of it she was able to feed from more than one human a night. _“Catch and release”_ , her mother had called this tactic. All in all, Lizzie had adapted to her new life quite nicely, and oftentimes wondered why she didn’t do all this sooner. _Oh right,_ she thought. _My parents thought they could circumvent over a thousand years of Gemini Coven traditions._

Tonight she found herself in Hope’s room. The girls often visited each other to study, but always ended up watching a movie, or drinking some alcohol they found in her dad’s office. It was mostly the two of them hanging out alone, as Josie either hung out with MG or was off tutoring other students. At first, Lizzie was concerned about being too close to Hope, but over time she had perfected her charade, and had full confidence that it would work for as long as she needed it to.

They were laying in bed, watching the first Lord of the Rings movie, after Hope had prodded out of Lizzie that she was a fan. Lizzie had watched this movie multiple times, and thus she knew how to react to any scene. She felt Hope’s eyes on her several times throughout the night; Lizzie had recently put two and two together, and realized that Hope _liked_ her. _Ah, love is blind,_ she had told herself.

Lizzie decided to look over at Hope, making eye contact with her. “What is it?”, she asked.

Hope blushed. “Nothing.” She looked back toward the screen. Lizzie thought of how easy it would be, to lean over and give Hope what she has wanted for who knows how long; how the meeting of their lips would be enough for Lizzie to have the almighty tribrid wrapped around her finger, and how she could become Lizzie’s little plaything, having someone to explore her deepest desires with. But Lizzie didn’t do that - emotionless or not, she had morals, of course. If she ever decided to switch her humanity back on, she didn’t want to ruin something good for herself.

Meanwhile, Hope’s heart was beating fast, embarrassed that she had been caught staring. She was pining hard for Lizzie; her feelings had gotten even stronger over the past month. She knew she needed to confess to Lizzie soon, before she lost her mind, but she felt like something was holding her back. There was something different about Lizzie, that much she could tell. The blonde was calmer, less dramatic, and a little more frail than Hope would like. That was why she had invited Lizzie to come over tonight; she wanted to make sure Lizzie was okay, that there wasn’t something going on that Hope didn’t know about. Hope’s room was their safe space, and if Lizzie was going to tell her anything, it would be right there. When the movie ended, she shut her laptop, set it on the nightstand, and turned to face Lizzie.

“Lizzie, can I talk to you about something?” 

Lizzie was caught off guard. This conversation could be about anything, not that she expected a serious conversation to begin with. She opted to play it cool for now. “Of course. Is there something wrong?”

“Well, I should ask you the same thing. I’m kind of worried. You’ve been a little...different lately and I was wondering if there was something going on?” 

Lizzie fought the urge to run. Of all the things, it had to be about her. She half expected a declaration of love, literally anything but _this._ She had no choice but to go with the flow. 

She frowned. “I’m fine, as far as I’m aware. What about me has you so concerned?”

Hope’s blue eyes inspected her closely. “For starters, you’re quieter, which is definitely unlike you. I haven’t seen you bitch to anyone lately.” 

Lizzie laughed. “Are those all my symptoms, Doctor?” She nudged Hope, who gave her a small smile.

“You’re also a bit thin, and I was worried that you haven’t been eating. I also saw you in the library the other night, staring at nothing. I didn’t like the look in your eyes, it scared me.” If Lizzie had her emotions on, her heart would’ve swelled at the little things Hope seemed to notice about her. Hell, maybe she would’ve even kissed her. But now it made her wary. Lizzie knew she couldn’t keep up her new image forever, but didn’t think anyone would catch on this soon. She should’ve known better; Hope had wormed her way into her heart, so it wasn’t a surprise that Lizzie had somehow found Hope chipping away at her defenses. Lizzie needed to end this conversation quickly, so she could leave to gather herself.

“So you’re worried about me, huh?”, she teased Hope. She saw Hope’s cheeks turn the slightest shade of pink. “You have nothing to worry about, Hope. I’m okay, I promise. I’ve just been tired lately; I know I haven’t been eating much, and I’ve been staying up late to practice some spells.” 

Hope looked at her with concern. “Please take care of yourself, Liz. Your health is more important.” She added quietly, “Especially to me.” 

Lizzie smiled. She got up, getting ready to leave. “Thank you for thinking of me. Goodnight, Hope.” She gave the tribrid a kiss on the forehead. Lizzie didn’t want Hope to worry about her, it would just give Hope an excuse to watch her way too closely for Lizzie’s liking.

Hope watched as Lizzie left her room. Talking to Lizzie made her feel a bit better, but she felt like something was still off. She didn’t think Lizzie would lie to her, but she couldn’t shake the feeling. She sighed. There was nothing she could do about it now, and opted to try and go to sleep. 

Lizzie made her way back to her room. She didn’t feel like going all the way to town to feed tonight, so she started getting ready for bed. Her conversation with Hope had left her unsettled; she wondered who else saw what Hope did. Lizzie yawned. She told herself that she would worry about it tomorrow. 

Little did she know that after tonight, her carefully crafted facade would soon shatter.

* * *

Lizzie woke up the next morning, determined not to let her talk with Hope the previous night get to her head. She went about her day as usual, going to class and studying. She never really thought about how mundane her life was until she stopped caring about everything else. 

Later that afternoon, she went to go see her father and ask if he would let her go into town to buy a new outfit. Hope was right; she _was_ thinner and needed new clothes. She didn’t need his permission, of course, but it was a show of good faith on her part. Lizzie walked into his office and saw him and Hope talking, probably about a new recruit or a monster or something. 

She knocked on the door. “Is this a bad time?”

Alaric and Hope looked at her. She could hear Hope’s heartbeat pick up at her interruption. However, it was her dad who spoke up. 

“No, not at all, sweetie. I was just talking to Hope about a new recruit and this new knife Dorian sent me.” The knife must’ve been razor sharp, because as soon as her dad picked it up, it made a gash on his palm. 

Smelling the blood, Lizzie could feel the veins underneath her eyes protrude, and she was fighting to keep the fangs at bay. She quickly turned her face away. 

Hope went to help Alaric, wrapping his hand up in a towel. She saw Lizzie head for the door. “Lizzie?”

“I’m going to go get some bandages,” Lizzie muttered. She wasn’t sure they could hear her, but she knew she had to get out of there - the scent of her father’s blood was invading her senses, making it hard to focus. 

It took her a second to regain her bearings, and she found herself in the hallway where all of the boys’ rooms were. She turned around to walk toward the front entrance when she almost ran into Jed. 

“Whoa, blondie, you’re in the wrong hallway.” 

Lizzie glared at him. “Not now, Jed.” She tried to side step him, but he moved in front of her again. 

“What’s the matter? Going a little crazy today? You’re overdue for another episode.”, he taunted. 

Being called crazy didn’t really bother Lizzie anymore, but hearing that word still made her skin crawl. She saw red, and snapped. With all of her vampire strength, she grabbed Jed by the throat and slammed him against the nearest wall.

“What the _hell_ did you just say to me?”, she growled.

Jed looked at her in fear. “I-I’m sorry-” 

The rest of his sentence was cut off by Lizzie throwing him into the ground. He landed face down, and Lizzie put a foot on his back so he wouldn’t be able to get up. “If you want crazy, Jed, I’ll show you crazy.” She grabbed his left arm, and pulled it hard; she heard a pop, and a sickening crack, as Jed’s arm was broken and pulled out of his socket. He was screaming in pain. Lizzie let go of his arm. She needed to get out of the school; the only way she would calm down was if she fed. 

She sensed someone’s presence behind her.

“Lizzie what did you do?” It was Josie. She had been studying with MG and must’ve just left his room. She looked horrified. It was at that moment when Lizzie decided the game was over. She dropped the act she had been trying so hard to maintain, and let her sister see what she really had become. Lizzie didn’t feel remorse, didn’t even feel bad for what she did to Jed. Josie raised her arm as if to cast a spell; Lizzie took one last look at her sister and sped the hell out of there.

She didn’t stop until she reached town. There were a few people gathered at the town square. Lizzie was hungry, _starving_ , and had lost all control. Her father would be out for her head soon, so she needed to feed before she lost the opportunity. So she stalked over to the square.

* * *

Back at the school, Hope had closed Alaric’s wound by giving him her blood. She wanted to know why Lizzie just left like that. She was walking to the twins’ room when Josie ran to her. 

“Hope!” She was out of breath. “We need to find Lizzie, _now.”_

Hope was officially freaked out. Josie looked rattled, and was looking at her wide-eyed. “Josie, I need you to calm down before you tell me what happened.”

Josie nodded. Once she caught her breath, she told Hope everything. “I was leaving MG’s room, and I heard Lizzie and Jed. I turned around and saw that she had him on the floor. Hope, she pulled his arm out of his socket, then broke it! Something is seriously wrong with Lizzie. Her face was blank, and her eyes...it was like a void. I tried to stop her with a spell, but then she bolted. It looked like she used vampire speed. We have to find her.”

Hope took a second to absorb the information. She didn’t know when it could’ve happened, but realized that she was right to worry about Lizzie. She had turned herself into a vampire, and the nightmare Hope had may not have been a nightmare after all. It was a lot to take in, but she needed to find Lizzie. “Okay, okay, we’ll find her. Where’s your dad?”

“I had him go check up on Jed.” 

Hope nodded. “Good. I’m going to go after Lizzie. Tell your dad everything you just told me. I’ll be back soon, alright?” 

Josie was a little hesitant, wanting to go with Hope to look for her sister, but decided that Hope would be the best person to bring her home. “Good luck, Hope.” She ran off in search of her father.

Hope sped off into the woods. She fine-tuned her hearing, trying to listen to anything out of the ordinary. She heard nothing. She walked closer to town, and that’s when she saw it.

Lizzie was surrounded by four bodies, all dead and drained of blood. She had compelled them, and lured them all into the woods. She was working on her fifth human when she heard footsteps behind her. She turned around, fangs still in the poor person’s neck, when she saw Hope looking at her, terrified. Lizzie let the body drop. 

“Liz?”


	5. A Path to Self-Destruction

Hope’s head was spinning; she felt like she was in a dream. Even though Josie had told her everything she needed to know to figure out that Lizzie was a vampire, seeing it with her eyes was a completely different story. She couldn’t wrap her head around the fact that Lizzie had died, and no one noticed. Hope felt her heart break a little at that thought. But right now, Lizzie stood right in front of her, red eyes and blood dripping down her chin; all Hope wanted to do was to bring light to her eyes again. Even if Lizzie didn’t want to believe it, she needed Hope. She needed someone to care enough to bring her back. Hope needed answers that only  _ her  _ Lizzie could give her. Right now she could only focus on what was right in front of her. 

“Hope!” Lizzie gave her a wicked grin. “Did you enjoy the show?”

“Lizzie, what...what happened? Why did you  _ do _ this to yourself?” 

“To stop the Merge of course. Maybe that ungrateful sister of mine will finally have something nice to say about me,” said Lizzie wiping off the blood from her chin. 

Whatever was left of Hope’s heart shattered with every word Lizzie said. Lizzie had died, given up her own humanity, so Josie would have a chance to live a normal life without the Merge looming over her head. Despite the circumstances, Hope felt herself falling even harder for Lizzie. She didn’t know anyone else, besides herself, that would make this choice; it made Lizzie the strongest person she knew. It probably never even occurred to Josie to do something like this. What hurt Hope, however, was that Lizzie didn’t talk to her about it first. Hope had no idea Lizzie was even  _ thinking  _ about turning herself. Hope would’ve tried to talk her out of it, but Lizzie was stubborn, and in the end Hope would’ve supported her anyway by teaching her everything she knows. She would’ve been there for Lizzie, every step of the way. 

“Lizzie you didn’t have to do this! Your humanity...why did you turn it off?” 

Lizzie rolled her eyes. “I killed someone of course, being a newbie vampire and all, and my obnoxious, broken brain couldn’t handle it. I’m guessing you can put the rest of the pieces together.” 

She was getting tired of being interrogated by Hope. Why couldn’t Hope just leave her alone? What did Hope think was going to happen if she brought her back? Lizzie wasn’t ready to go back, didn’t even know if she could go back there ever again. Her mission was over; the Merge had been stopped, her mother would soon come home, and everyone could go on about their lives. They didn’t need Lizzie for that - no, what they didn’t need was an emotionally dead being in their lives. 

After hearing Lizzie’s explanation Hope did, in fact, put the pieces together. Lizzie’s mind must’ve spiraled to the point where she felt like she had no choice than to turn off her emotions. She may have even told herself that everyone would be safer this way.

“I know you don’t want to come back, but we can work this out. We can call your mom, tell her to come home. She can help you, we all can.” 

Lizzie narrowed her eyes. “What makes you think she would want to see me like this?” 

“For the same reason why I’m still standing here. I care about you, Liz, you know that. I’d do anything to help you. I’m not afraid of you, or even mad. Your family won’t be either, I promise, and if they are, I won’t let them hurt you.” 

Lizzie wanted to believe her - that her family wouldn’t be disappointed in her, that the first thing her mother would do when she saw her would be to give her a hug instead of keeping her distance. Lizzie needed,  _ wanted,  _ someone to help her, she knew that deep down, but how long would it be until Hope got tired of her too? 

Hope saw her hesitation. “Lizzie, please...just come home.”

Lizzie made her choice. She pushed all of her thoughts aside and looked Hope dead in the eyes. “No.” 

Hope’s face fell. She set her jaw. “If you won’t come willingly then I’ll bring you back by force.” 

“Hybrid versus tribrid, huh?” Lizzie sneered. “Why don’t you pick on someone your own size?” 

  
Hope got ready to cast a sleeping spell, but Lizzie was faster. “ _Silencio_.” That way Hope wouldn’t be able to speak. “ _Motus.”_ Hope could do nothing as she was thrown into the nearest tree. Lizzie wanted Hope to see how far she had fallen. Hope was always saving everyone else, but Lizzie wasn’t going to let Hope chase her down the rabbit hole this time. Nothing would break Hope’s heart more than failing to save the person she fell in love with. 

“I’m not going back, Mikaelson.” She bent down in front of Hope. “Now, there is a dance going on over at Mystic Falls High right now, and I don’t suggest you follow me unless you want me to turn my dinner into a feast.”

She stood up and looked at the bodies behind her. “Oh, and by the way, could you clean this up for me? Thanks.” She released the silencing spell, and sped off. 

Hope broke down in tears. She didn’t know what she would tell Alaric. That his daughter had successfully stopped the Merge but was about to become a mass murderer in the process? Josie had trusted her to bring her sister back and now Hope was coming back empty-handed. She should’ve known better than to try to bring Lizzie back using magic; she had been practicing her magic almost every single day. The biggest disadvantage of being a siphon witch was that they needed a magic source to siphon from, and the bigger the spell, the longer it would take for them to siphon enough magic to cast it. Lizzie didn’t have that problem anymore; now she was extremely powerful and unpredictable and no one knew what she was capable of. Hope remembered when Lizzie, just for one second, considered coming home. Hope couldn’t let go of that. Her words had reached Lizzie, and it made her think that Lizzie wasn’t beyond saving - she just needed some extra help. She needed Caroline. 

She stood up. Once she figured out what to do with the bodies, she’d go back to the school and call Caroline, then profusely apologize to Josie and Alaric. It was going to be a long night. 

When she arrived back at the school she made a beeline for the headmaster’s office. She burst through the door, startling Alaric and Josie, who had just finished talking to her father about everything. She hoped that she wouldn’t have to explain to them why Lizzie is acting the way she is; Alaric would piece it together as soon as it left Josie’s mouth. When they saw that it was Hope they stood up. 

Josie noticed that Lizzie wasn’t with her. “Where’s Lizzie?” 

Hope almost cried again, but she knew it wouldn’t do them any good. “I’m so sorry, I couldn’t bring her back. I tried talking to her, tried to bring her back but she didn’t want to.” 

Alaric raised an eyebrow. “You tried to talk to someone with no humanity on?” 

Hope sighed. “It almost worked, Dr. Saltzman. I saw it in her eyes. Something’s holding her back; probably the same reason why she shut her humanity off to begin with.” She noticed that Alaric was taking his daughter becoming a vampire a little too well. “Why aren’t you freaking out? I know I am.” 

“Oh trust me, I’m terrified. My daughter is who-knows-where surrounded by humans and with no humanity. But I’m not going to let it drive me up the wall because right now she needs people who are calm and who care. I’ve seen my fair share of humanity-less vampires, Caroline included, and I know that Lizzie needs a sense of stability, a constant; something that grounds her.” 

Josie looked at her dad. “Wait, Mom turned off her humanity? Why didn’t she tell us?” She muttered to herself, “This information would have been useful for this situation.”

“Yeah, after your Grandma Liz died Caroline was in a lot of pain so she shut it off. It’s not something she likes to talk about. So did Damon and Elena at different points.” 

Josie was trying to process the fact that most of the adult figures she knew had been a), vampires, and b), had turned off their emotions. 

Hope took Josie’s silence as an opportunity to speak. “As lovely as this walk down memory lane is, we still don’t know where Lizzie is. I tried using magic but Lizzie has been practicing her magic daily and since she doesn’t need to siphon anymore she’s become a lot faster at casting spells. She’s way faster than me. She managed to cast a silencing spell and flung me into a tree before I had a chance to open my mouth.” 

“You’re right, Hope. I should share with you guys my research on Heretics.” At Josie’s confused expression, he elaborated. “Heretics are vampire-witch hybrids that are only specific to siphon witches. Your uncle Kai was one. Killing himself with vampire blood in his system is actually how he killed the entire Gemini Coven.” 

He sighed, remembering the man who killed the love of his life. “At this point, we don’t know how powerful Lizzie is. Hopefully she hasn’t done too much damage.”

Hope winced. “About that, I may have found her surrounded by five dead bodies” 

Any sense of calm Alaric had disappeared in that instant. He knew it couldn’t have been just five. New vampires always inevitably kill and he had no idea when Lizzie transitioned. 

He collapsed into his chair. “What do we do?”

Josie spoke up. “The only thing we  _ can _ do. There’s only one person that can understand what Lizzie is going through. As much as I hate knowing that my sister is out there alone and in pain, her rescue mission is going to have to wait.” 

Hope nodded. “Dr. Saltzman, call Caroline. It’s time for her to come home.”

* * *

After leaving Hope to clean up Lizzie’s mess, Lizzie had gone to Mystic Falls High. She got in easily, blending in with all the other high school students. She was bluffing when she threatened Hope not to follow her. Even though vampires constantly craved blood, Lizzie didn’t feel like feeding again. She just needed a distraction; her confrontation with Hope left her unsettled. Every time she saw Hope she always managed to knock down one of Lizzie’s walls. Tonight was no different, except this time was more damaging. Lizzie felt like a door had been opened that she couldn’t close; she knew it was her humanity trying to claw its way out. Lizzie arrived at the gym where the dance was and grabbed a drink. This was one of those times where she cursed herself for having a supernatural metabolism; she had hoped that the drinks were spiked, or that  _ someone _ had alcohol, but as a vampire she could no longer get drunk on normal amounts of alcohol. Trying not to think about what happened at the Salvatore School that night, and unable to get drunk, Lizzie left the dance. 

As she was walking out of the school, a guy, who had probably left the dance as well, came up behind her. 

“Hey, what’s a pretty thing like you leaving alone?” He was checking her out. 

_Oh, he’s cute._ She smiled at him. _I think I just found my distraction for tonight._

“My friends ditched me, and I guess I didn’t find anyone else worth my time.” Lizzie knew where this was going. She had spent almost every night stalking humans to feed from, and had become familiar with their behavior patterns. Reading a teenage boy was like reading a children’s picture book. She also recognized him as one of the jocks that had played against the Salvatore School during one of their annual football games. Luckily, he hadn’t recognized her.

“How about we hang out tonight? I’ll make it worth your time.” 

Lizzie, in her normal state, would’ve been repulsed by this boy’s lame attempts at flirting.  She pretended to think about his offer. “Well it’s not like I have anything else to do, so why not?” 

He grinned. “Great! Let’s go.”

They walked around town, and it would’ve been a sweet first date, if only it weren’t a ruse to get into her pants. Lizzie mentally rolled her eyes; she was impatient, and thoughts about what happened that night were creeping in, so she made the first move. “Hey, do you wanna go back to your place? I’m a bit cold.” 

The jock was more than happy to oblige. “Sure, it’s not too far.” 

“This is actually my brother’s apartment that he shares with his girlfriend,” he said, once they arrived at the door. “They’re out of town for a few weeks and my parents are home tonight. I thought you’d like a little privacy.” 

As soon as he closed the door, Lizzie grabbed his face and kissed him. He kissed her back just as hungrily. As they were making out, they stumbled into the bedroom. Lizzie shut the door, and they then proceeded to have sex. Lizzie couldn’t have gotten luckier at that dance; as a vampire she had a lot of stamina, and this jock, fortunately, could almost keep up with her. 

He had successfully kept her entertained throughout the night, but when she woke up the next morning, she was hit all at once with thoughts about the events of the previous night; about what she did to Jed and how Hope found her. When the jock woke up, she compelled him to forget he ever met her, give her his keys to the apartment, and go home; she also remembered to cast a cloaking spell on herself. She figured that this was a nice apartment, and since the people who actually lived there were gone, she decided that she was going to crash there until she either chose to go back and face her family or become a fugitive. 

_Stability or chaos, what am I going to choose?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you guys liked this chapter
> 
> There was lore, some throwbacks, and now we're getting Caroline thrown into the mix!
> 
> Until next time :)


	6. A Visit to the Salvatore School

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lizzie tries to be her own therapist and ends up at the school, Caroline comes home, and they've successfully located Lizzie.

Her phone rang. 

“Hello?” 

“Caroline, you need to get back to the school as soon as possible.” 

“Why? Are the girls okay?” 

“Josie’s fine. It’s Lizzie…”

“Did something happen to her?”

Silence. 

“Alaric?”

“She’s...she’s a vampire now.” 

Caroline processed the information. She had a lot of questions, but it wasn’t the time to worry about the details. 

“I’ll be there soon.”

* * *

Lizzie was having the most fun she’s ever had. She was enjoying living in “her” new apartment; the woman who lived there had nice clothes, the place was clean, and the rent had been paid in advance so the landlord didn’t arrive to bother her. For the past two days Lizzie had been going to parties, bars, and hooking up with random people. She had to be careful though, in case someone from the Salvatore School spotted her and reported back to her father. She couldn’t imagine going back to her old life, filled with restrictions and the pressure to be the best just because she was the headmaster’s daughter. When she left she had felt her humanity trying to come back, but as the days went on, Lizzie found herself slipping away again.

However, tonight she was incredibly bored. It was a Monday night; the students from Mystic Falls High would all be home studying and the people who had jobs would go to bed early and prepare for the next day. There were no parties and the bars would be mostly empty. It was the first night where Lizzie would come home alone, and her brain would try to go to places where she didn’t want it to go. She tried to distract herself with tv, and when that didn’t work she grabbed a book, hoping she would lose herself in the pages. Neither worked. She was going to have to face her demons after all. She figured that thinking about things would be a good thing, as letting her unwanted thoughts fester would make it easier for someone to convince her to flip the switch again. So she sat in a chair and let all of her thoughts surface.

She began with what happened to Jed. _Well, there’s not much there. The idiot pissed me off. Did he deserve to have his arm nearly ripped from his body? Probably not. Was it enjoyable to watch him scream? Yes. I finally got to use my strength, showing a werewolf not to mess with me. He asked for crazy so he got it._

  
She moved on to Josie. She laughed when she remembered the look on Josie’s face when she saw what Lizzie did to Jed. _The poor thing. She looked terrified. Didn’t know her sister had the potential to be a monster. But how cute! She tried to stop me with a spell. I wonder what she’s doing now. Drowning in guilt? Grieving with Dad? Pretending that everything’s fine? It’s what she does best. Little Miss Perfect’s world is crashing down, I hope._

_Hope._ Lizzie frowned. _I guess she’s my weakness. Something...unattainable since we first met. She acted all high and mighty, pretended like she cared about me, just so I wouldn’t be another name on the list of people she couldn’t save. She never wanted to be my friend, and yet she developed feelings for my sister, who never made the effort, when we were younger. I know very well which twin she prefers. I’m nothing more than her least favorite Saltzman. I hope she’s scared. Scared of the small taste of power that I showed her. I’m no match for a tribrid, but I’m far from being the weak bitch I was a month ago. What a shame, we spent a lot of time together. Maybe I was wrong when I thought that she liked me. Maybe I should’ve slept with her and went about my day. Having the great tribrid under me would have been quite a feat._

Lizzie thought about her parents. She was amused at the idea of her family calling her mother for reinforcement; or better yet, her father himself confronting her with his stupid crossbow. Lizzie relished in the idea that no one could bring her back. She liked who she was now. No insecurities, no episodes, nothing. She was in control of her own thoughts for once and she was never going to let that feeling go. It wasn’t long before she finished with all of her lingering thoughts. She felt better, coming to terms with what happened. She was ready for whatever her family or Hope would throw at her. Thinking about the school gave her an idea. She had nothing better to do, so why not? 

It was time she gave her friends and family a little visit.

* * *

Hope was sitting on her bed; she had been thinking over the past couple of days about Lizzie, about who she was as a person, why she does things the way that she does, and what led to this current situation. Hope had been reading her aunt Freya’s grimoire, trying to find a way to force Lizzie’s humanity back on. She was confident that it wouldn’t come to this - Lizzie was an emotional person, in the most fundamental sense, so she hoped that someone could talk her into coming back. Lizzie always seemed to respond to kindness; she loved easily and deeply. It was always the little things that bothered her, and she let these things build up until something caused her to snap and the result would be an episode. But it only took one person to say something nice to her to calm her down. Yes, Lizzie wasn’t always the nicest to Hope, but it wasn’t either of their faults. Hope never hated her for it, and Lizzie had been nothing but kind and helpful to her since Josie admitted to what she did. From the beginning, Lizzie always tried to reach out to her, to be her friend, but Hope had her head too far up her own ass to acknowledge her attempts at friendship. Hope would always feel bad about that.

_Maybe if I gave her the time of day, she’d still be here. Maybe we’d both be a bit happier._

In a weird way, Hope was glad that things turned out the way that they did. She spent most of her life as a loner, but she knew that if she had read Josie’s letter, her and Josie would probably be together, and that was a road that Hope didn’t want to think about. She loves the twins; the Saltzmans had been constants in her life since she was young, but it’s different with Lizzie. Her younger self was an idiot for ignoring the absolute angel she saw every day. Somehow this newfound friendship had turned into real love for the beautiful, sarcastic, opinionated, and eternally stubborn girl. And Hope wouldn’t have it any other way. She couldn’t help but think that if she had told Lizzie how she felt earlier, then the blonde would be laying in bed next to her right now. She, and everyone else, had taken Lizzie for granted. The twins were the heart and soul of the school; without them there wouldn’t _be_ a school. The fact that there was one missing made everything feel incomplete. It made Hope herself feel empty.

There was a knock at her door. “Come in.” 

It was Josie. In the nicest way, she looked like a wreck. She had been hit with a lot of information at once during their talk in Alaric’s office. She had been anxiously awaiting her mother’s arrival, all while worrying about her sister’s safety. Thoughts of Lizzie plagued her day and night, and she was on the verge of a breakdown. Hope didn’t ask if she was okay. She knew better. 

Josie sat next to her on the bed. “Any luck? 

“No, I think that black magic would be the only way to do it, and we’re sure as hell not going down that path.” 

Josie fidgeted with her fingers. “Do...do you think we can save her?”

Hope had thought about that as well. She wanted to believe that Lizzie could be saved and that everything would go back to the way it was. But what if Caroline couldn’t get through to her? The twins’ mother was the last card they had to play. They all hoped that Lizzie seeing her mother would trigger an emotion - any emotion, whether it’s anger that Caroline had been gone for so long, happiness that her mother was finally home, or even sadness; Lizzie had made it clear that she didn’t want her mother seeing her like that. Maybe showing Lizzie her worst fear would be enough to pull her back to the light. 

“I do.” Hope said sincerely. 

Josie looked at her. “You really love her, don’t you?”

Hope raised her eyebrow. Josie rolled her eyes. “Please, I think the only person who doesn’t know that you are in love with Lizzie is Lizzie, and even she’s probably figured it out by now.” 

  
Hope blushed. _We’re such a cliche - probably just how Lizzie likes it._

“I miss her. I miss her smile, I miss her laugh.” Hope chuckled, “I miss her being a bitch too.” 

“No one does it like her, huh?” Josie laughed. She saw how deep Hope and Lizzie’s love ran for each other, and she felt terrible that she was the reason why they wasted so much time arguing and hating each other. Maybe the only thing that was keeping Lizzie from being happy was her own sister. 

Hope nodded. “When’s your mom coming back?” 

Josie sighed. “Dad called her last night, but she still had to pack up her stuff and book a flight. Could be today, could be tomorrow.”

There was another knock at the door; this time it was Alaric. 

“Girls, Caroline just landed. She’ll be here in an hour and I want you both in my office when she gets here.” 

Hope and Josie nodded. Alaric shut the door. 

“Maybe you should go take a nap, Jo. You’ll need your strength.” Josie agreed. She was exhausted, but she was afraid of what she’d see if she closed her eyes. However she figured that closing her eyes a bit would make time go by faster. She stood up. 

“You’re right. I’ll see you in Dad’s office.” 

Hope stood up too. “Actually I’ll walk you to your room. I’m going to the library to do more research.” They left the room and turned around. Standing at the end of the hallway was the last person they expected to see tonight.

Lizzie herself was standing there, smiling at them; she walked around the corner, out of sight. Hope and Josie were absolutely shocked. Hope looked over at Josie and saw that she was frozen in place, staring at the spot where Lizzie just was. 

“Jo, we have to follow her.” Hope tugged at Josie’s arm and led her around the corner where Lizzie had gone. They saw a flash of blonde hair, heading in the direction of the gym. They entered the gym and there she was, sitting in a chair, waiting for them. Hope made sure to shut the door behind them so Lizzie wouldn’t easily escape. 

“Took you long enough.” deadpanned Lizzie.

Hope was confused. Lizzie had insisted that she didn’t want to come back, yet here she was. _Why would she return and risk getting caught?_

“L-Lizzie?” Josie was staring at her sister. She didn’t know what to say; she hadn’t seen Lizzie in days. 

“Hi, Josie. You’re looking absolutely terrible today.” Lizzie stood up while Hope and Josie took a step back, as if they were expecting a fight. Lizzie tilted her head. “This is your fault, you know. If you hadn’t caught me breaking that moron Jed’s arm I wouldn’t have had to go on the run.” 

Josie was tearing up. “That’s not true. You would’ve been caught anyway.” 

Lizzie shrugged. “Maybe.” 

“Just stay here, Liz. We miss you.” Lizzie didn’t look fazed, in fact she was bored. She had expected a bit more yelling.

“Mom’s going to-” Hope put a hand over Josie’s mouth. Caroline’s arrival was their surprise attack. If Lizzie knew that her mother was on her way back she would probably run away to where no one could find her. They’d also lose the element of surprise since Lizzie would expect her mom to sweet talk her into coming back. 

Lizzie raised her eyebrow, choosing to ignore whatever Josie was about to say about their mother. “We all know I don’t intend to stay.” 

Josie let a few tears fall. Her sister was right in front of her and she couldn’t help her. She couldn’t hug her and tell her it was going to be okay. Never in her life had she felt this powerless. 

“You’re not leaving the school, Liz.” It was Hope’s turn to speak. She let Lizzie get away once and she refused to do it again. She stood in front of Josie, since she knew that Josie wasn’t in any condition for a fight.

Lizzie smirked. “Okay.” 

Hope and Josie were dumbstruck. “Okay?” Hope couldn’t believe it. _Was she surrendering? Does she have some sort of plan?_ Hope had no idea how Lizzie planned to get herself out of this. Lizzie walked towards them with her arms outstretched and wrists facing up. 

“Cuff me, Hope.” Lizzie winked. “I know you want to.”

Hope was still wary, searching Lizzie’s face for some kind of deception. She tentatively put her hand out to grab Lizzie's wrist, but Hope’s hand went right through her arm. Hope looked at her, wide-eyed. 

Lizzie cackled. “Oh I got you! You should’ve seen your faces.” She wiped an imaginary tear from her eye. “Do you really think I’m dumb enough to set foot anywhere near here? Astral projection, ladies. Pretty good, right?”

Josie was angry. She and Hope had been cruelly tricked by her sister. “Come back and face us in person, Elizabeth.” 

“The full name card. I like it.” 

Hope knew anything they said would be useless. They were helpless until Caroline got there. Luckily, Lizzie took Hope’s silence as her cue to leave.

“Well, I gotta go. Tell daddy dearest I said hi.” Lizzie released the spell and disappeared. 

It was nothing but silent in the gym, as Hope and Josie were too busy thinking about what just happened. Lizzie had astral projected herself into the school, for no other reason than to taunt them. Josie was livid about that. However Hope didn’t have it in her to be angry; she was sad, sad that she let Lizzie get away again, even if she wasn’t physically there. She knew that the longer they left Lizzie alone, the harder it would be to get her to turn her humanity back on. She let out a breath.

“Come on Jo, let’s go to your dad’s office.”

After Lizzie had ended her astral projection spell she walked out of the Old Mill. To get a good connection to the school in order to create a flawless projection of herself she had to be close to it, so she decided to use the Old Mill, knowing that it was the last place anyone would expect her to be. She also had another reason to come to the school. She had grown tired of being locked up in her apartment and had done everything she wanted to do in Mystic Falls. She was bored so she decided to take her car and drive wherever. She had to be careful and make sure that there weren’t any students lingering on school grounds. Luckily, she already had her car keys on her when she fled the school, so it was only a matter of getting to her car and leaving campus as quickly and as quietly as possible. She found her car, just the way she had left it, and was about to touch the door handle when she felt magic. Someone had placed a spell on it so it would let them know if someone tried to take it. Lizzie scoffed and siphoned the spell away. She got in, turned the key in the ignition, and sped off. She figured that she had around an hour’s head start if her family came looking for her. She also undid her cloaking spell, knowing that it would take them a while to try their hand at a locator spell again.

With the wind in her hair and the radio blasting music, Lizzie felt free. However she knew her little adventure wouldn’t last long. 

* * *

Caroline had a lot of time to think on the plane. 

When she ended her call with Alaric she immediately packed up whatever she could take on a flight and left. Since the Merge was no longer a problem she didn’t have a reason to return to Europe. Her first flight got delayed so she stayed in a hotel overnight to catch the next plane out of there. When she had boarded the plane and sat down she started processing what Alaric had told her. 

  
Lizzie was a vampire, a heretic, and by the sound of Alaric’s voice it seemed like he didn’t know anything about it either. Caroline rolled her eyes. _Of course these things happen while I’m away._ She couldn’t tell whether she was sad that Lizzie had to go through this alone, angry that no one noticed, or guilty for not being there. She had good reason to be away, but Lizzie solved the Merge problem literally overnight, and Caroline couldn’t help but think that it was always going to come to this; that maybe everything she had done over the years had been for nothing when the solution, most likely the _only_ solution, was right in front of their faces. It was probably fate that one of her daughters would end up like her.

Caroline allowed herself to smile a little. _I guess my little girl isn’t so little anymore._

Her world had been flipped upside down overnight, and she didn’t realize she was so tired until she woke up to the sound of the plane’s captain telling them that they were about to land. She took a deep breath. She was nervous, nervous about seeing the school again after being gone for so long, as well as seeing how Alaric had handled things; she was also excited to be home, to see Josie and Lizzie, to see Mystic Falls, to be able to _breathe_ again knowing that she wasn’t going to lose one of her daughters. She had missed the small town terribly and she was ready to begin this new chapter of her life with her twins as headmistress again.

Caroline grabbed her luggage, left the airport, and took a bus back to Mystic Falls. She smiled as she took in the familiar scenery. She got off at the bus stop and walked back to the school. Her heart skipped a beat when she saw the school; the place where she had great (and not so great) memories with her friends, which became a safe haven for kids just like her girls. She entered the code to the gate and stepped in. She got more anxious the closer she got to the door; Alaric didn’t give her the details but Caroline’s “mother’s instinct” told her that Lizzie wasn’t at the school and she had no idea where her daughter was. Her breathing sped up and she suddenly found herself in front of the headmaster’s office. She burst in through the door.

“Where the hell is my daughter?”

Alaric gulped. “Oh dear god” he muttered. Caroline being angry was never a pretty sight. 

“Mom!” Caroline felt a set of arms wrap around her. 

“Hi sweetie.” She kissed the top of Josie’s head. “I’m home!” She took a good look at her daughter. She didn’t like what she saw, but it was only because Josie was feeling Lizzie’s absence more than anyone else. 

“Hi, Ms. Forbes.” greeted Hope.

“It’s Caroline, Hope, no need for the formalities. Now, can someone please explain what happened?” 

Josie began by explaining what she had seen, then Hope jumped in with what Lizzie had told her in the woods, and ended with what happened earlier in the gym. Caroline listened intently. If she wasn’t a vampire she would’ve fainted by now. Her heart broke for her daughter; Lizzie had only done this because she hadn’t found a solution and had lost hope that there would be one. She wasn’t surprised when she learned that Lizzie had turned off her humanity. _Her mind is so fragile, she probably held out for as long as she could._ Caroline knew firsthand what becoming a vampire does to you, and most of the things she had heard reminded her of herself. 

When Hope had finished the story, Caroline sat down. “So what now?” 

Alaric looked down. “I’m afraid you’re our last chance of getting her back, Care.”

Josie muttered, “Way to be encouraging, Dad.”

Josie was right. Caroline felt the weight of his words, but didn’t like that they insinuated. If she couldn’t bring her daughter back, then what? She would never give up on her daughter, but Alaric, her own father, didn’t seem very hopeful. 

“I won’t give up on her, Ric. I have forever to get her back.” 

“But Jo and I don’t, and we’d like to see Lizzie again before we die.”

Caroline narrowed her eyes. Hope felt as though a fight was about to begin. Josie didn’t need her parents arguing about life and death right now, so Hope spoke up. 

“We need a plan. When are we going after her?” 

Caroline sighed. “We can’t do anything tonight. Josie and I need sleep, and we don’t even know where Lizzie is.”

“We’ve done a couple of locator spells but she’s cloaked herself.” 

Caroline frowned. “When was the last time you tried?”

“Yesterday.” 

“And today she decided to go out of her way to project herself into the school? Her behavior has changed.” 

Hope was trying to follow Caroline’s line of thought, but she needed her to elaborate. Caroline saw her confusion and explained. 

“The last time you saw her she insisted that you leave her alone, right? And today she showed up at the school. It could be out of pure boredom but it seems like Lizzie is seeking out attention. I think she _wants_ someone to help her, and we all know that she doesn’t do well alone. We have to keep in mind that Lizzie’s brain doesn’t work the same way as everyone else’s. That also applies to being a vampire. Other non-humanity vampires only have one agenda and they stick to it. Lizzie may have flipped the switch but her mind is still working the same way it always does. Her bipolar “low” took the form of insisting that she doesn’t need or want help while her “high” brought her right back to the school. I bet her brain is fighting against itself right now.”

Hope connected the dots. “So part of her is catering to her humanity - the part that realizes she misses her family and doesn’t want to be alone, while the other part is trying to suppress it. In a way it makes her more dangerous; she still has her magic and even with no humanity it could still be uncontrollable.” 

Caroline nodded. “Try that locator spell again.” 

Alaric handed Hope a map and she spread it out on the floor. She cast the spell and her eyes widened when she saw a red dot moving south. “There. She’s heading to Richmond.” 

“You're right, Mom. She deliberately took off the cloaking spell which means she wants us to find her.”

Everyone was relieved. A small weight had been lifted off of everyone’s shoulders. Caroline looked at the clock on the wall. “Everyone get some rest. We’ll meet back here tomorrow.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thoughts? Predictions? 
> 
> As always thanks for reading :)


	7. Road Trip

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Here we go! Caroline, Hope, and Josie finally arrive in Richmond.

Hope didn’t sleep much that night, despite knowing how taxing the immediate future would be. It could be days or even weeks before things could even begin to go back to normal. Her waking hours were spent processing all of the information she had learned. She thought about what Caroline had told them; that Lizzie was subconsciously reaching out to them. Even though Lizzie couldn’t feel it, Hope knew that she was suffering internally, and in so much pain. It happened with everyone who chose to be emotionless rather than feel torment or grief, and it never ended well. There was something that caused Lizzie to bury her feelings instead of talking to someone and it made Hope want to hug her, wrap her up in a warm blanket, and shield her from the world. She dreaded the moment where Lizzie would turn her humanity back on; the dam would break, and everyone would have to do their best to pick up the shattered pieces. Hope hoped that the love and support of her family would be enough. She hoped that _her_ love would be enough, because there was no way she would hold her feelings back after this. Lizzie had been there for her when she became a full tribrid - heightened emotions, bloodlust, and all; it was Hope’s turn now to do the same for Lizzie, because Lizzie never made Hope feel like a monster. Lizzie herself didn’t deserve to feel like a monster. And with that thought, she drifted off to sleep.

When Hope woke up the next morning, she was surprised to realize that she didn’t have a single dream. She expected to have some nightmare about not being able to save Lizzie or whatever else her brain could conjure up. She couldn’t help but take it as a good sign that things were going to get better soon. She looked at the clock to see that it was 10 am; she got ready for the day and went down to the cafeteria. Hope and Josie had been excused from class so it was relatively empty at this time. Hope had almost invited Josie to breakfast, knowing the girl needed some food, but was glad to see that she had slept in. Besides, Caroline would do her mom thing and force her to eat later. Hope was kind of relieved to have some time to herself. She wasn’t in a great state of mind and didn’t feel like being in someone else’s company at the moment. Looking around the near-empty cafeteria, she felt a pang of sadness; if Lizzie knew that Hope would be eating alone she would’ve marched right down and eaten with her. Hope didn’t remember when she and Lizzie had started having their meals together, all she knew was that she waited for the blonde every day, and over time she didn’t even have to look over to know who had taken the seat next to her; her only indication being a dramatic sigh or a flash of blonde hair. If either Lizzie or Hope had to miss a meal, then they would let the other know ahead of time. 

Just like how Hope didn’t remember when she started expecting the blonde’s presence during meals, she didn’t remember when she fell in love. She couldn’t pinpoint an exact moment; she couldn’t figure out if it was gradual and slow or hard and fast. Her love for Lizzie was unexpected, unpredictable, and intense, but so pure, just like Lizzie herself. It was also exciting, and being with Lizzie gave her confidence, because she knew that there was always going to be one person who would be by her side. The way Lizzie showed her affection and paid attention to her was completely different from the way Landon did these things; Landon was happy to have a girlfriend, happy to show the world that he had obtained something that everyone else desired. Lizzie didn’t care about that; she was just happy to have a friend who understood her tumultuous emotions and wouldn’t judge her for them. Hope's love for Landon couldn’t outweigh her love for Lizzie; Hope had thought she and Landon would have some epic love story, but she was already having that with Lizzie, and they weren’t even in a relationship. _Yet,_ Hope thought. Their love story probably started years prior, maybe the day Lizzie introduced herself. She may have been getting ahead of herself - she didn’t even know if Lizzie had feelings for her - but Hope wanted, and couldn’t wait, to make Lizzie hers. 

Once Hope was done with her breakfast she made her way up to Alaric’s office. She knocked on the door and opened it. Alaric was the only one in the room, sitting at his desk. 

“Good morning, Hope. Caroline went to go get Josie.” 

Hope nodded and sat down. “Dr. Saltzman, just between you and me, do you think we can get Lizzie back?” She had been wanting to ask since the night before, considering it almost started an argument between him and Caroline. Hope needed to know that everyone was all in on the plan; Alaric seemed to have doubts, and it may prove to be detrimental to them. They didn’t need someone lowering their morale.

Alaric put down the book he had been reading and sighed. “Despite what I said last night, I know we can save her. I was just upset, and a little jealous, that I couldn’t be the one to do that - that even though the girls barely see their mother, Caroline is the only one who can get through to Lizzie. I know that I’ve always been at a disadvantage, as a human, and I’ll just be in the way whenever there’s a real fight, but now I feel even more useless, not just as a father, but as a father who can’t save his supernatural daughter. Sometimes I wish the girls were born human; they’re lucky to have powers, but some days being siphon witches have always hurt them a little bit more. They can never see themselves as real witches, especially the way Lizzie is now, because they have always relied on other people’s magic. The twins are a rarity, outcasts to other witches, and I could never ease that hardship.” 

Hope latched onto every word Alaric said. Hope understood what it’s like to have a family member hurting and could do nothing but watch from the sidelines; Alaric was a father who couldn’t help his daughter - Hope was a daughter who couldn’t help her father. The difference was that Hope was going to do everything in her power to bring Lizzie back to her dad. It was the least she could do for the man who took her in despite the atrocities her family committed against him and the entire world, trained her, and gave her a chance at a better life. If there was one person in Hope’s life that deserved a moment of peace, it would be Alaric. She also thought about what he had said about them being siphoners; she knew that they needed a magic source to use magic, but didn’t realize how that affected them. She thought it was a cool power to have, even if it came with a handicap, but realized how useless she would feel if she ever ran out of magic. Hope didn’t know that they were seen as outcasts to other witches; she thought they’d be interesting to them at the very least, not hated, but she should’ve known better - witches could be very judgmental. Hope was a rarity too, and she definitely was not admired. She made a mental note to ask Lizzie about how she felt about all of this later. It was then that Caroline and Josie entered.

“Good morning, Hope.” Caroline and Josie said at the same time. They looked at each other and smiled. It made Hope happy that the twins had their mother back, even if Hope didn’t have hers. 

“Morning Caroline, Josie. Sleep well?” 

Caroline sat down on the couch across from Hope. “Oh absolutely. I didn’t realize how badly I’d been sleeping in Europe until I woke up and saw that I had slept for 12 hours! Although, that may have been the jet lag...” 

Josie plopped down next to her mom. “Good to know, Mom. Some of us had to put magical herbs in our tea to fall asleep.” 

  
Caroline scoffed. “They worked, didn’t they? I tried to wake you for several minutes and for half a second I thought you _died_ from sleep deprivation.”

Josie rolled her eyes and Hope couldn’t stop herself from laughing. They made eye contact and knew that they were both thinking the same thing; that Caroline’s dramatic nature reminded them of Lizzie. Hope didn’t remember the last time she saw the twins interact with their mom, but it wasn’t until just now that she was seeing where bits and pieces of the twins’ personalities came from. It made her happy that they had a piece of Lizzie with them. The headmistress, before she left, was known around the school as a caring, fun-loving person; she loved the students and took the time out of her day to interact with the younger kids or others who were feeling a bit homesick. It was very telling that after Caroline left, Emma was hired. Caroline was a little mischievous as well, and often participated in playing pranks against Alaric. Hope couldn’t help but imagine if that’s how Lizzie would be as headmistress. 

Alaric cleared his throat. “So, where do we begin?” 

“Well, we can start by doing that locator spell again. See if Lizzie is still in Richmond.” 

Josie grabbed a map and did the spell. “Yeah she’s still there, right in the center of the city.” 

“Richmond, despite being the capital of Virginia, is a giant college town. She’s probably staying somewhere close to all of the schools,” said Caroline. “Schools mean parties, parties mean drunk college students, drunk college students mean Lizzie can -”

“Alright, we get the point Caroline.” Alaric didn’t want to hear about his daughter's sexcapades in Richmond. Hope had to stop herself from blushing, wishing she were a Richmond college student right now. 

Caroline rolled her eyes. “I was _going_ to say that she could easily find some drunk students to feed from...but you also have a point there.” 

Josie was equal parts amused and impatient. “So what now?” 

“Well, Lizzie will be there at least overnight, and it’ll take us an hour to get there. We should leave soon and find a place to stay until nightfall. We’ll do another locator spell and find Lizzie.” 

Josie frowned. “Don’t you think she’ll run at the first sight of us.” 

“Not if she’s in the same state of mind as yesterday. She’ll want us to confront her, or if she’s impatient, she’ll come to us.” 

“And if she’s not?”

Caroline took a second to think. “I’m the surprise, right? Josie, you and Hope should get Lizzie’s attention and see if you can somehow bring some of her walls down. Scream, cry, tell her everything you’ve been feeling up to this point. You just need to catch her off guard enough for me to come in and well, save the day or whatever.” 

“At some point, we’ll also have to try our hand at a barrier spell.” 

Hope shook her head. “She’ll see it coming from a mile away. Hopefully she won’t run. She’ll become overconfident, thinking she can take us all down. Lizzie doesn’t exactly shy away from confrontation, either.” 

Josie asked the question that they had all been thinking. “What if none of this works?”

“Well then I’ll snap her neck and bring her back here.” 

“Caroline! You’re not killing our daughter.” 

“Ric, you and I both snapped many necks back in our day, and those we didn’t permanently kill turned out just fine! Besides, she’ll come back to life. We’ll have to lock her up in the werewolf transitioning space but at least she’ll be in our hands.” 

Josie looked at her parents in disbelief. Hope sighed. She didn’t want to resort to violence; it would make Lizzie even more hostile, but Caroline was right. Bringing Lizzie back by force would be their last resort.

The room became silent. Josie looked between her parents and said, “That’s it? That’s our grand plan?” 

Caroline shrugged. “Eh, concrete plans never work anyway, and it’s the best we’ve got, Jo. You’ll have to siphon from either myself or Hope beforehand, but after Hope’s experience I don’t think it’s a good idea to use magic against her. In fact, don’t do anything that’ll instigate a fight. She has to know that you trust her. Seeing her like that will scare you, but that’s a good thing. Lizzie needs to know what her actions are doing to the people who care about her. Our plan may not even work; it’ll probably be thrown right out the window as soon as we get there, but we’ll get her back, don’t worry.” Caroline said that last part in her motherly voice; she wanted to reassure her daughter that everything would be fine. She had been nothing but confident since her arrival, but the “what ifs” still lingered in the back of her mind. She had to be strong, though, for her family. It all fell on her shoulders - this was her test as a mother. 

Josie nodded. “I trust you, Mom. Dad, are you coming with us?” 

“No, sweetheart, someone has to look after the school.” Hope could see the pain in his eyes; he was never one for sitting back and letting other people do the dirty work. Alaric always did everything himself, and it was taking everything in him not to get up and go with them. 

“Alright then, girls, let’s go.”

Alaric gave Josie a forehead kiss. He nodded to Hope as she walked by his desk. Caroline stayed back. “We’ll be fine, Ric. You’re going to see her, one way or another.” Alaric nodded. He may have been a bit confrontational towards Caroline, but he trusted her, and he knew that Caroline would die for their girls. Other than his former fiancee, Alaric couldn’t imagine anyone else being the mother of the twins. Once Caroline left, he let the tears he had been holding back fall. 

Meanwhile, Caroline had given Hope and Josie 15 minutes to each pack a bag and meet them outside. They were going to take Lizzie and Josie’s blue Chevy Camaro, given to them by Damon Salvatore. Once their stuff was in the trunk, they hit the road. Caroline drove, with Hope in the passenger seat and Josie in the back. Josie pouted for a good ten minutes because Hope had called shotgun. Hope herself was restless; they were an hour away from Lizzie, and Hope didn’t know whether it would be the longest or shortest hour of her life. The latter made her feel unprepared while the former scared her, as it would allow her to think about all the possible ways that things could go wrong.

She was so immersed in her thoughts that it ended up being a short ride. When she saw the tall buildings that indicated they were in Richmond, her heart sped up. She knew it would be hours until they saw Lizzie, but couldn’t help but look at every woman with blonde hair, trying to spot her. At some point during the ride Josie had booked an Airbnb; a three bedroom, two bathroom house. It wouldn’t be ready for another hour, so they decided to get some food. They found a diner, and sat down in one of the booths. Josie could feel Hope’s nervousness because she took her hand and looked at her. 

“Everything’s going to be okay, Hope.” 

Hope knew that, but the pessimistic part of her was plaguing her with unnecessary thoughts. Lizzie could be right outside, or she was in the area, spotted the car, and was long gone already. Hope was worried, and impatient, and that wasn’t a good combination. 

Josie added to tease her, “We’re going to get your girl back.” 

Caroline choked on her milkshake. “Your girl? Are you and Lizzie -”

“No!” Hope said quickly. She looked down. “Not yet.” 

Caroline smiled at her. “Guess we really need to bring her back now, huh?”

Hope looked away shyly. Luckily for her, their food had arrived. It wasn’t an awkward meal; Caroline filed the silence by talking about Europe and all of the witches she had met during her adventures. Hope was glad for the distraction, and she could almost forget that they were on a mission. Once they finished their food and paid, they went to the Airbnb. After a nice shower and a nap, Hope joined the mother-daughter duo in the living room. They did the locator spell, and their hearts beat a little faster knowing that Lizzie was just a few blocks away. After a few minutes the red dot started to move. 

“Where’s she going?” 

“It looks like a park. Maybe to find some lone joggers to feed from.” 

“We better get moving, then, before she hurts someone.” Caroline flinched after saying that. She didn’t want to believe that her daughter would hurt anyone, but Lizzie already had, and Caroline’s heart would break if she had to see it in person. 

The sun was setting rapidly. They parked in a parking lot on the opposite side of the park as Lizzie. This time, Josie drove and Caroline was in the passenger seat. She turned toward Hope and Josie. “I’ll have to get out now. Drive around the park to where Lizzie is. I’ll follow you.” She got out of the car while Hope took her seat. “Good luck, girls.” Caroline sped off.

Hope took a deep breath. She had dealt with, and seen, a lot of things in her short life, but never in her life had she felt this nervous. Maybe it was because she had never had to bring a friend back from the deep end, or maybe she remembered the last time she saw Lizzie and didn’t want a repeat of that. Her thoughts were interrupted by Josie’s voice. 

“Hope, she’s right there.” There she was, indeed. Lizzie was sitting on a park bench, sipping from a wine glass filled with either wine or blood, Hope couldn’t tell. She couldn’t help but stare. Lizzie looked beautiful; she was wearing knee high boots, a black pencil skirt, a white blouse, and an overcoat. Her hair was falling around her shoulders in waves, and the dim lighting of the park made her hair look more gold than blonde. She clearly hadn’t just come from a college party. 

“Let’s go.” Hope and Josie got out of the car and slowly made their way over to Lizzie. Lizzie spotted them and smirked. She wasn’t planning on running after all. She finished whatever she was drinking and tossed the glass somewhere behind her. 

“Well isn’t this a nice surprise. To what do I owe the pleasure?” 

Josie was the first to speak. Seeing her sister made her angry all over again. “You’re coming back with us, Liz. There’s no running, no fighting. We’ll dig the humanity out of you one way or another.” 

Lizzie almost laughed, then she honed in on Hope. “What about you, Hope? Does the resident hero have any fighting words for me?” 

“Lizzie I am begging you to stop fighting the part of you that wants to be with us.” Hope was getting angry as well. “Your dad’s a mess, Josie can’t sleep, MG has no one to talk to about comics, and the entire school can feel your absence!” Hope was tearing up. Everything she had been feeling up to this point was surfacing. “You told me, after I got out from Malivore, that no one would be better off without me. You think the same thing doesn’t apply to you?” 

Lizzie was surprised at Hope’s outburst, however it was going to take a lot more than Lizzie’s own recycled words to bring her humanity back. “It’s time to let go, Hope.”

Hope shook her head. “Why are you fighting this?”, was all she could choke out. 

“Because I’m tired. Tired of being called selfish and a bad sister. I may be the defective twin but at least I had the guts to do what you couldn’t, Josie.” 

Josie had to concede. She knew her sister was right. “You're not defective, Liz, but you’re right. I wouldn’t be able to make a choice like this. I’m sorry that you had to suffer all these years because I couldn’t stand up for myself. I’m sorry you didn’t feel like you could talk to me.”

Lizzie narrowed her eyes. She hadn’t expected an apology from her sister. She felt anger bubbling in the pit of her stomach. _Anger?_ She wasn’t supposed to feel that. She stood up and walked toward Josie. As much as Josie wanted to run she stood her ground.

Lizzie kissed Josie on the forehead and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “I accept your apology, Jo,” she said in a quiet voice. “But this isn’t about you. It’s about me. I’ve been hearing these horrible voices in my head for years. When I flipped the switch, for the first time in a very long time, all I heard was silence, and it was beautiful. For the first time in my life I felt normal. I didn’t feel broken.” Lizzie fake-pouted. “Why would you take that away from me, Jo?” 

Josie’s heart shattered hearing Lizzie’s reasoning for turning off her emotions. It also made her even angrier. She shoved her sister. “I’m not leaving you.” When Lizzie made no attempt to stop her sister, Josie shoved her again. “Fight back! I want my sister back,” she screamed through tears. She fell to her knees. Lizzie tried to ignore the pain in her heart. 

Hope had to stop herself from doing the exact same thing as Josie. She had to look away when Josie finally broke down. Hope didn’t want to cause Lizzie any pain, but she couldn’t let Lizzie keep her humanity off. Lizzie walked up to her, and Hope looked her right in the eye. “Look what you’ve done, Liz. You’ve caused your family pain. Come back so we can help you, so we can all be happy.”

Lizzie leaned down until her lips were almost touching Hope’s. She caressed Hope’s cheek and whispered in her ear, “You wish, Mikaelson.” Hope started to tremble.

Lizzie stepped back; she wanted to ask the questions that she had been wanting the answers to since she left. “Why do you care, Hope? You never wanted to be my friend, you didn’t want anything to do with me. Am I just another person you feel obligated to save?” 

“Because you’re not a terrible person, despite what you may think of yourself. You _care,_ Lizzie. You cared about me even when I pushed you away. You took the time out of your day to make me feel less alone when no one remembered me. You cared about people even when you were trying to be the head bitch of the school. No, you’re not someone I need to save so I can fuel my ego. I'm not letting you walk away. You deserve to be saved. You’re my friend; I need you in my life.” 

Lizzie was trying hard to keep her composure. “Don’t do this, Hope. Let me go. Let me be _content_ with my life.” Lizzie was almost begging. “I won’t bother you, I swear.” 

Hope could almost hear the raw pain in her voice. This was hurting Hope more than it was hurting Lizzie. She was practically torturing the girl she loved. “I can’t do that, Liz.” 

“Why not?” 

“Because I love you, and I want you to stay. With me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you guys like this chapter 
> 
> Sorry we didn't get much Lizzie. If you must know, she's been playing tourist around Richmond.
> 
> We finally got a confession out of Hope, so we'll how Lizzie reacts! Will it be enough?
> 
> Feel free to comment any thoughts or predictions


	8. A Mother's Love, A Daughter's Heart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorry in advance for the short chapter 
> 
> Hope you enjoy it anyway!

Caroline, as promised, had followed the girls and was out of sight. Her heart ached when she saw Lizzie; her daughter looked so...grown. Caroline hadn’t aged a day in over two decades and it was hard to wrap her head around the fact that her daughters were biologically older than her. And now, Lizzie would also be forever trapped in a young body. Caroline remembered when the twins were growing up and people would say that Lizzie was a miniature version of her; blonde hair, sense of humor, and all. It wasn’t until now that Caroline realized how much of the twins’ lives she had missed; she wasn’t there for their 16th birthday, and couldn’t comfort them when their biological mother was resurrected and died again. She missed their 17th birthday, when Josie had been taken over by dark magic and nearly killed her sister. She even missed Miss Mystic Falls, an event she had spent hours obsessing over when she was younger. She was tired of feeling detached from her girls - she never wanted to leave them again.

She was about to rush in from her hiding spot, but after hearing Hope’s words, she stopped dead in her tracks. She wanted to see if it was enough to break her daughter. Lizzie had spent most of her life chasing every form of love imaginable; she was denied the love of a mother twice over, due to Jo’s death and Caroline’s own absence, Alaric was too busy and spent his days wallowing in grief or alcohol to give his daughters much attention, and she also craved the unconditional love of someone outside of her family. Caroline couldn't remember a true friend Lizzie had outside of Josie when the girls were younger. When it came to romance, time and time again Lizzie found herself chasing boys only to be heartbroken in the end. Yet here Hope was, declaring her love for her, and Caroline prayed to anyone listening that giving Lizzie what she always wanted would bring her back. She knew Hope would make her daughter happy; Caroline had known Hope since she was a little girl, after all. She knew of all the tragedies the poor girl had been hit with, yet she proved to be resilient and, despite everything she had been through, very kind. She didn’t look at Hope as just another evil product of her family - even if Hope herself hated hearing it she _was,_ indeed, special. Hope was the eye to Lizzie’s storm, and Caroline, as a mother, was relieved to know that there was someone who had seen all of Lizzie’s flaws; someone who was patient, and understanding, and unwilling to give up on her. She wanted Hope and Lizzie to have what she and Klaus could not. 

Caroline fought back tears at seeing her daughter slowly die inside, wanting to be free of the demons in her head; she opted to wait and see how things unfolded from here.

* * *

“I love you, Liz. Come back to me.” Hope hadn’t expected to confess her love right then and there, but it felt _right_ , finally telling the girl of her dreams how she felt about her, and she didn’t want to wait anymore. She was more than ready to pour everything she had into a relationship with Lizzie, but first and foremost, she had to get them both home.

Lizzie herself was taken aback by what Hope had said. It was the last thing she had expected to come out of the tribrid’s mouth. She felt the mental tug-of-war going on in her head, and for a second, her humanity almost won. The underlying fear of living with a broken mind again outweighed anything Hope could give her; Hope couldn’t fix her brain, and Lizzie would just end up hurting her. Her non-humanity eventually won the battle. She closed her eyes to regain her composure, opened them, and met Hope’s eyes with a cold stare.

“Did you really think that would work?” Lizzie tilted her head in mock sympathy. Hope’s face fell and Josie nearly passed out. “I expected better from the great Hope Mikaelson.” 

Hope clenched her fists and prepared herself to cast a spell. Before she could even open her mouth, however, she felt a gust of wind rush by her. 

Right in between Lizzie and Hope stood Caroline, making direct eye contact with her daughter. Hope took the opportunity to cast a barrier spell around them. 

Lizzie couldn’t believe it - her mom was there, standing right in front of her. She looked at her, wide-eyed. “No, no, no. You can’t be here. You’re in Europe.” She didn’t want to believe that her mom was actually home. She should've seen this coming. Lizzie shook her head, hoping that it was just a spell. When her mom didn’t go anywhere, she took a step back. Caroline then took a step forward, and they repeated this process until Lizzie was backed up against a tree. Caroline had gotten close enough that Lizzie could feel her warmth - the type of warmth that she hadn’t felt for some time now. She was shaking. Caroline still had not said a word, choosing instead to inspect her daughter’s face. She was just as beautiful as the day she left her. She knew Lizzie had a lot to say, so she braced herself for whatever Lizzie was about to throw at her. 

“You have some nerve coming back, mother dearest.” Lizzie tried to keep the tremble out of her voice. “You left me here. You _abandoned_ me.” Once she started talking she couldn’t stop; she needed her mom to hear her words. 

“I needed you, and you packed your bags and _left._ When I found out about the Merge all I wanted was for you to come home, because I thought I only had a few years left with you. But you didn’t come back - you chose to stay away.” Caroline let the tears flow; she didn’t know how much her leaving hurt Lizzie, she could only imagine how it affected Josie too. She kept staring at her daughter for a few more seconds until she couldn’t take it anymore; she wrapped Lizzie up in a hug. Lizzie tensed and tried, half-heartedly, to break away from the embrace.

“I’m so sorry, honey. I’m sorry that I left you,” Caroline whispered in Lizzie’s ear. “I’m here and I’m never leaving you and your sister again. I’m not going anywhere. I love you, Lizzie, please come back. Let’s go home, okay? Let me take you home.”

Hearing her mother’s words and her sobs are what finally broke her. She was tired of fighting. Lizzie collapsed into her mother’s arms and cried. Caroline inhaled sharply, realizing that her daughter had turned her humanity back on. Lizzie didn’t have the strength to keep herself upright so Caroline lowered them to the ground. She saw Hope and Josie run up to them, eyes red and puffy from crying. She shook her head. “Go back to the car, girls. We need to give her some space.” Josie was about to argue when Hope grabbed her arm and dragged her away, lifting the barrier spell in the process. Meanwhile, Lizzie’s sobs were subsiding. Everything she had been preventing herself from feeling over the past week was now being released. She felt as though a veil had been lifted and hadn’t realized how physically tired she was. With her mom stroking her hair, and warm arms wrapped around her, Lizzie fell asleep. 

Caroline carried her sleeping daughter back to the car. Hope and Josie were standing outside of it, patiently (impatiently, on Josie's part) waiting. They perked up when Caroline approached.

“Mom is she okay?” said Josie a little panicked. 

“She’s okay, sweetie, she just passed out from exhaustion. Can one of you open the door for me?” Hope opened the car door and moved the seat forward for Caroline to place Lizzie in the backseat and crawl in herself. Hope wanted desperately to be the one to sit with Lizzie, to lay her head in her lap and kiss her forehead, to whisper in her ear that things were going to be okay and that she loved her, but she knew that Lizzie needed her mom’s comfort more. They needed to talk about their future and where they would go from there. Hope felt a little bad that her confession wasn’t enough to turn her emotions back on, but she figured that Lizzie was in denial; she knew that Lizzie had faced rejection many times in the past, and probably believed that Hope was just grasping at straws. Hope didn’t regret what she said, or even the circumstances in which she had said it - she just knew that the ball was in Lizzie’s court now and had to wait until the blonde had recovered enough emotionally to have a conversation with her. She didn’t realize that she was the only one not in the car until a voice startled her out of her trance.

“Hope? Are you coming?” Josie had been five seconds away from blaring the horn; she wanted to get home as soon as possible, eager have her whole family under one roof again. 

“Sorry.” Hope got into the passenger’s seat. She knew that this was going to be a long drive; getting to Richmond had been a short one, and she knew she wouldn’t get lucky twice. 

“Come on girls, let’s go home.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We finally have Lizzie back and now she has to deal with the fallout of what she's done
> 
> Are she and Hope going to have their talk? Stay tuned to find out :)
> 
> Comments are always highly encouraged. Very curious to see what you guys think will happen next


	9. Back to Normalcy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [TW] = Self-harm if you look closely

Lizzie woke up to the sound of a hushed conversation and the familiar smell of her dad’s office. Once she regained her bearings the memories of the day’s events flooded back, or at least she assumed it was the same day; she last remembered being in Richmond, that her mom had come back, she had turned her humanity back on, and somehow she ended up back at the school. It was a lot to take in and she was quickly becoming overwhelmed.

_The school,_ Lizzie thought. _I can’t be here, I’m too unstable._ Her eyes shot open and she sat up. Caroline must’ve heard her daughter’s rapid heartbeat and rushed over to Lizzie’s side before Lizzie could make a run for it. “Hi, honey, you’re okay. Here, drink this.” Caroline handed her a blood bag. Lizzie tentatively took it, expecting the off taste of animal blood, but was pleasantly surprised when she discovered that it was human blood. Caroline knew what her daughter was thinking and said, “I got some from the local hospital. You’ll need to gather your strength before we switch you to animal blood.” As Lizzie consumed the blood, her eyes became red and the trademark black veins appeared; Alaric flinched at the sight. He had seen many vampires over the years but nothing prepared him for seeing his daughter actually become one. Meanwhile Josie just stared. She had a lot of questions that she would ask her sister after she got a chance to yell at her for being so stupid. Hope was staring too, albeit for different reasons; she thought Lizzie looked hot as a vampire, and she was glad that Lizzie hadn’t spotted her yet because there was absolutely _no way_ she could keep herself from blushing at the sight of Lizzie sucking a blood bag completely dry. 

The blood was definitely helping Lizzie stay calm; she emptied the contents of the bag very slowly, trying to delay that inevitable conversation that would follow once she was finished. Caroline took the empty bag and sat next to Lizzie on the couch while Lizzie braced herself for the concerned stares and questions that were going to be asked in a delicate tone. Lizzie hated being seen as weak, as fragile, and especially hated the fact that her family seemed to be tip toeing around her. Only her mother had gotten physically close to her while everyone else maintained their distance, as if they were afraid of her. They had good reason to be, since she was on the verge of an episode and could literally blow up the school at a moment’s notice, however it made her feel alone. She didn’t exactly expect a warm welcome after everything that she had done, but anything was better than the thoughts of isolation that were creeping into her brain. Maybe she was right in trying to stay away. 

“How are you feeling?” Caroline could physically see Lizzie beginning to spiral and decided to intervene. Lizzie struggled to maintain eye contact with her mother, opting instead to look at the floor and wringing her hands. “I’ll be fine,” Lizzie mumbled. 

“I know, baby, but what are you feeling right now?” Lizzie sighed. She thought about reiterating that she was fine, but it would be a lie plus her mother would see right through her. She wanted this interrogation to be over as quickly as possible so she had no choice but to cooperate.

“I feel terrible, Mom. I’m overwhelmed and I feel guilty for everyone having to drop everything and come deal with me because I am too weak to handle being a vampire.” Lizzie buried her face in her hands. “I’m going to have an episode and blow up the school and I just need to get out of here.” She added as an afterthought, “Somehow I’ve become even more of a freak.” Caroline didn’t have to ask what she meant about that last part; being a heretic, the only one at the school, was enough to make anyone feel alienated, however her daughter was also bipolar, and Caroline knew that she was afraid of hurting more people due to her increase in power. 

  
Lizzie fought to keep her tears at bay. She didn’t want everyone to see how messed up she really was. Her mother kept asking her questions and Lizzie didn’t remember how she answered them; all she knew was that she could only bring herself to look at her mom. She was afraid of seeing the disappointment in her dad’s face, she didn’t want to see Josie’s horror, and she _definitely_ did not want to look at Hope, who could only sympathize with her. In truth, Lizzie was ashamed of the way she handled things; Hope transitioned into a full tribrid almost flawlessly. How could someone as strong as Hope like someone as weak as Lizzie? Lizzie had so much to be grateful for: a caring family, a girl who has actual feelings for her, and she even retained her magic. She stopped the damn Merge and saved her sister - she should feel like a hero, yet she couldn’t feel worse. At some point, Lizzie had stopped talking altogether, and Caroline knew that the conversation was over. Before she could say anything, Lizzie stood up, mumbled “I need a shower”, and sped off. Alaric had half a mind to have someone watch over her 24/7, but he realized that his daughter needed space as much as she needed support. Hope thought the same thing, so she put a hand on Josie’s shoulder and shook her head when Josie tried to go after her sister. There was nothing left to be said, so they all dispersed back to their rooms; they could all sleep a little easier knowing that Lizzie was under the same roof as them again.

* * *

Lizzie actually went to take a shower. She had weighed her options and decided that staying inside the school would be easier on her family rather than running away to the Old Mill for the night. The shower would be the one place where she could think in private. When she went to get clothes from her room, her heart almost stopped. She hadn’t seen her room in what felt like forever and it was exactly the way she left it, except that Josie had made her bed. The last time she was in that room, things were simpler; she was just a witch, just like her sister, her mom was still away on some fruitless campaign to prevent the Merge, and she had spent countless nights laying in her bed thinking about her crush on Hope. She sighed, grabbed everything she needed for her shower, and left. 

  
Fortunately, no one was in the bathroom when Lizzie arrived. She stepped into the shower and let herself relax as the warm water hit her body. She was surprised that no one was following her every move, or that her parents actually let her walk free and not locked her up and thrown away the key. Lizzie was already a prisoner in her own mind and she certainly didn’t need to be a prisoner in her own _home._ She began to feel overwhelmed again; the last thing she needed was to have an episode during her shower and have someone come in and see her naked. She felt the hot tears burning down her cheeks as she recalled everything that had happened to her. She remembered the last few seconds before she shut off her humanity and how her mind felt like it was going to explode; she remembered the feeling of not being able to feel, and how _liberated_ she felt; she remembered what she had put Hope and Josie through, and worst of all, she remembered enjoying the act of feeding from those innocent people and watching them drop like flies. Lizzie was a murderer - there was no sugarcoating it. She wasn’t going to feel better about it, no matter how many times her dad says that _it happens_ , or her mom telling her that she’s _done the same thing_ many times over. Her parents had built the school to prevent people like her from becoming dangers to society - little did they know that they had been raising a monster this entire time. Of course Lizzie had to be the one to get one step closer to shattering her parents’ dreams. She never did anything right. Her sadness turned into anger and she punched one of the bathroom tiles, shattering it. She saw the pieces fall to the floor as well as her blood mixing with the water and going down the drain. She could’ve been imagining it, but for a second the pain made her feel better. She punched tile upon tile, not caring about her bloody hands as they would heal, or the damage she was inflicting. She wanted to be punished for all of the things she had done. She knew her family would disagree, and Hope was too nice to let her think that way, but Lizzie believed that she couldn’t get off scot free for her horrific actions.

Little did she know that Hope was sitting right outside the bathroom, making sure no one entered. She had parted ways with Josie and instead of going back to her room, she decided to follow Lizzie to make sure she was fine. Hope heard Lizzie’s sobs and it took everything she had not to go in and comfort her; she knew Lizzie didn’t want anyone seeing her like that. All Hope could do was bring her knees up to her chest and feel her heart break with each tile that Lizzie punched. She hoped that this time, Lizzie would talk to her the next time she needed help. When she heard the water turn off, Hope got up and walked back to her room. 

* * *

After Lizzie had annihilated the shower stall, she waited until her wounds had healed, got dressed, and made her way back to her room. She stopped right in front of the door and prepared herself to be alone with her sister. If Lizzie was lucky, Josie would hit her like last time, because that was what Lizzie felt like she deserved - to be kicked, punched, screamed at. She wanted someone to beat her to a bloody pulp. _It wouldn’t be enough,_ Lizzie thought. _Nothing can bring those dead people back._ She took a deep breath and opened the door. There was Josie, sitting on her own bed and waiting for Lizzie’s arrival. Lizzie quietly shut the door and walked to her side of the room, putting her stuff away. She could feel Josie’s eyes follow her every movement. After a while Lizzie started to become irritated by the silence - she knew her sister had a lot to say. 

“If you have something to say, then say it.” That was enough to rile Josie up; she got up and walked to her sister. Lizzie’s back was facing her so Josie grabbed her shoulders and spun her around. It was then that Lizzie could see the tears forming in her eyes. 

“How could you?!” Josie said, clenching her fists. “You had no right -” 

“To what, Josie? Save our asses? I don’t hear a “thank you” anywhere.” Lizzie knew she couldn’t make Josie understand, so she hoped that her sister would figure it out on her own.

“We still had _time,_ Lizzie! Mom and Dad were handling it!” 

Lizzie scoffed. “See that’s the problem, Jo. We led ourselves to believe that our _human_ father and our _vampire_ mother could solve an ancient witch curse. We were on our own from the beginning.” 

Josie was silent for a few seconds, just staring at her sister. Lizzie may have had a point, but it still didn’t do anything to calm Josie down.

“Maybe. But you _died,_ Liz! You planned to _kill_ yourself without anyone knowing! Why didn’t you tell anybody? You had so many people you could’ve talked to yet you didn’t.” Josie was actively crying now. She could barely see her sister over the veil of tears. 

Lizzie sighed. She found herself wondering the same thing sometimes. “Everyone would’ve stopped me, and I couldn’t live with myself knowing that I didn't do everything that I could to save your life. This was the only way to keep both of us alive.” 

Josie was too busy crying to articulate an answer. Lizzie knew this conversation was far from over. She pulled Josie in for a hug. “I’m still here, Jo.” Lizzie laid them down onto her bed, with Josie clutching her shirt for dear life. Lizzie thought that Josie would be the one to try and comfort her, but it turned out to be the other way around. Lizzie was glad that her sister wasn’t coddling her - all Lizzie wanted was for things to go back to normal. After a while, Josie stopped crying and Lizzie heard her breathing even out. Lizzie somehow slipped out of Josie’s tight embrace, covered her with a blanket, and left the room. There was one other person she needed to see. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What do you think of Lizzie's new way of coping? Does she deserve to be punished? 
> 
> I love reading comments so feel free to leave one if you'd like :)


	10. A Conversation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hope and Lizzie finally talk about their feelings.

As Lizzie made her way to Hope’s room she realized that she had no idea what she was going to say to her. _I’m sorry I indirectly rejected your declaration of love? I’m sorry I made your life a living nightmare these past few days?_ Lizzie should’ve been happy that Hope loved her; she loved Hope too. The girl was her anchor, the person she woke up every day to see, but Lizzie felt as though she were trapped in a box with water filling up to the point where she’d eventually drown. Lizzie was a ticking time bomb and she wasn’t going to let Hope get caught in the crossfire. 

Before she knew it she had reached Hope’s door. Lizzie took deep breaths and realized that she was shaking when she knocked on the door; she heard movement in the room but Hope didn’t open her door. Lizzie frowned. _Maybe she’s having a nightmare._ Lizzie turned the doorknob slowly and opened the door wide enough to see if Hope was okay. However, Hope was still awake, already dressed in her pajamas, and the only light in the room was coming from the lamp on her nightstand. She was reading and must’ve not heard Lizzie knocking. Lizzie couldn’t help but stare; she knew Hope’s room was her safe space, and during the day Hope was so busy helping Alaric while being a student that she always looked weary. In the comfort of her room, however, when the stress of the day had long gone and she was ready to go to bed, she looked so peaceful. Lizzie loved to see the look of pure contentment on her face. Lizzie had opened the door a bit more while in her trance and she saw Hope look up as the door creaked.

Hope looked at her, slightly startled. “Lizzie?” 

Lizzie slowly inched back through the door into the hallway. “Sorry, are you going to sleep? I can come back tomo-” 

“No! I mean, it’s okay. I’m not tired.” Hope practically jumped off the bed and ran toward her. She grabbed Lizzie’s hand and pulled her back inside. She didn’t let go even as they sat down on the edge of the bed. Hope was kind of surprised that Lizzie would come talk to her so soon, but she was grateful nonetheless. She had missed Lizzie’s presence and Hope didn’t realize how lonely she was when Lizzie was gone until the girl was sitting right next to her. Hope inspected her face and didn’t really like what she saw. After Lizzie’s mental breakdown in the bathroom Hope knew that Lizzie was hurting very badly. There was a mix of fear and sadness in her eyes and she was trembling ever so slightly. 

Lizzie felt Hope’s eyes on every inch of her face. She knew if she looked over she would see Hope looking at her with the face of adoration that she had reserved only for the blonde. Lizzie was hesitant to look over, afraid of being pulled into deep blue eyes and let Hope see her for what she really was - something evil and repulsive. She realized that Hope wasn’t going to take the initiative and she was waiting for Lizzie to say something. She sighed and suddenly she was beyond tired.

“I’m sorry, Hope. For everything. For worrying you, scaring you, and not talking to you when I should have.” She shook her head. The words were flowing out of her - everything she couldn’t say to Josie, to her own parents. “I meant what I said in Dad’s office; I’m a freak, a killer, and you shouldn’t have to deal with me. I’m sorry for trying to be your friend and causing you so much pain in your life and I’m sorry that I ever walked into it. Just say the word and I’ll leave you alone.” 

Hope pulled a crying Lizzie into her arms; she wasn’t mad at Lizzie, she couldn’t bring herself to be. Sure she was upset that Lizzie hadn’t told her about her plan, but Hope would be a hypocrite if she said she wouldn’t have done the same thing. “Lizzie...that’s the last thing I want. Yes I was worried, and scared for your safety, but I’m more scared of what you’ll do to yourself if you keep falling further into this hole of self-hate.” Hope moved her arm so she could caress Lizzie’s cheek and wipe the blonde’s tears away. “I’m not sorry that you walked into my life. One of my biggest regrets is not letting you in when you tried to be my friend. I never apologized to you for it; I was an idiot and too wrapped up in my own pain to realize that maybe what I needed was just someone to be there for me. You’ve become the light of my life, Liz, and I’m not letting you leave until you believe that.”

Lizzie sat up and she felt guilty all over again. Hope was being too kind when she should be berating Lizzie for causing her pain, yet here Hope was, apologizing to _her_ because of her childhood actions. Lizzie knew right then and there that she didn’t deserve Hope. “How?”, Lizzie choked out. Hope tilted her head and frowned. “How what?” 

“How can you sit here and forgive me for what I did? I _hurt_ you, I hurt everyone! I’m as crazy as everyone’s been saying this whole time!” Lizzie’s sorrow had shifted to disbelief; she was almost yelling at this point. “How can you look at me and not see a cold-blooded killer?” Lizzie felt defeated; she needed to know the answer to the question that had been bugging her ever since Hope saw Lizzie as a vampire for the first time. 

Hope sat closer to Lizzie and cradled her face in her hands. Lizzie still couldn’t believe that Hope was treating her like something precious, even when Lizzie had proved that she was everything but. Hope maintained her composure even though she wanted to cry, too. “I was born into the original family of vampires. I have seen some horrible things my family has done and I’ve also killed my fair share of people. I don’t think any less of them, and I certainly don’t think any less of you.” Hope knew Lizzie needed to hear that she wasn’t the worst person in the world. “My parents were just like you, you know. Hybrids. My mom became one when I was born and my dad spent centuries, tormented and killed many people, just so he could be able to live freely as a hybrid, and in the end it didn’t even matter, because they both died. I still love them; they both died protecting me. If someone as...horrible as my dad was could still have a family that loved him, then you deserve a chance to love and be loved, too. I have seen a number of terrible people in my life, Liz, and you are not one of them - not even close.”

For a moment all Lizzie could do was stare. She had never seen Hope speak like this before, especially about her parents - so open, honest, and emotional. The least Lizzie could do was try to be open too; she owed Hope that much. She took Hope’s hands from her face and held them in her lap. “I...I need help, Hope. I can’t do this on my own; something’s wrong with me and I, for the life of me, can’t figure out what it is. But I’m afraid of hurting you again.” 

Hope rested her forehead against Lizzie’s. “Whatever you’re going through, Lizzie, I can handle it. I love you and I want to help you.” 

  
_She said it again,_ Lizzie noticed. She took the time to look deeply into Hope’s eyes before she uttered the words that she had gone so long without hearing from anyone - words that she had never romantically said to anyone before. “Hope...I love you too.”

It was Hope’s turn to be speechless. Up until now she wasn’t sure how Lizzie felt about her; they were as close as two people could be without being something _more,_ and Hope had fantasized for months about what it would be like if Lizzie reciprocated her love. She gave Lizzie her most genuine smile: crinkled eyes and a full grin. Lizzie loved that smile. She leaned in and kissed Hope, finally letting go of a part of her that had been holding back. Hope responded in kind, tangling her fingers in blonde hair and deepening the kiss. Things quickly became heated, resulting from months, maybe years, of built up tension. Hope knew where this was going when she felt Lizzie’s hands slide under her shirt and lips on her neck. She pulled away from Lizzie; it didn’t feel right. Lizzie had just been through something traumatic and was very vulnerable. Hope wasn’t going to take advantage of her like that; not the way Rafael did, not the way Sebastian did. They could talk about their relationship another time, because Lizzie looked exhausted and was emotionally wrecked. Hope could wait. She would always wait. 

Lizzie looked away in shame. “I’m sorry.” Hope gently took a hold of her chin and turned her head so Lizzie could face her. “Don’t apologize. Let’s go to sleep, okay? We can talk about this another time - when you feel better.” Lizzie nodded. Hope got up, pulled the covers, and got into bed, motioning for Lizzie to lay next to her. Hope wrapped her arm around Lizzie’s waist and pressed up against her back; she wanted to give Lizzie all of her warmth. Hope figured that as soon as Lizzie drifted off to sleep and escaped her mind, the better.

"Thank you", Lizzie whispered. Hope kissed her head. Lizzie quickly fell asleep, and Hope soon followed, hoping that tomorrow would be a better day for both of them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ten chapters in and can I say...FINALLY
> 
> Thank you to those who have left comments on previous chapters. It's very motivating and I love reading your thoughts!


	11. Judge, Jury, and Executioner

When Lizzie woke up, she smiled as she recalled the previous night’s events and realized that she was still wrapped up in Hope’s arms. The tribrid was sleeping soundly, a peaceful look on her face. They hadn’t really discussed their relationship, or lack thereof, so Lizzie didn’t know what their boundaries were; all she wanted to do was kiss the girl she was lying on top of until she was awake. Lizzie became distracted when she remembered that she had left a distraught Josie sleeping in her bed. She looked at the clock; she still had enough time to make it back to her room before her sister woke up for class. The last thing Lizzie needed was Josie accusing her of abandonment and having yet another thing to be mad at Lizzie about. She didn’t want to leave, of course. The air was warm and heavy and Hope’s body was soft. Lizzie begrudgingly slipped out of Hope’s embrace, immediately noticing the loss of warmth. She was about to stand up when she felt a hand grab her wrist. Turning around, she saw half-opened eyes looking at her.

“Where are you going?” Hope murmured. Lizzie’s heart warmed at the sight of a groggy Hope. 

“Back to my room. I kind of left Josie in my bed last night before coming here.” Lizzie sighed and fidgeted with her hands. “I don’t want her to be mad at me for leaving her.” 

Hope looked at her for a second before tugging Lizzie’s wrist, pulling her back down to the pillows. She lifted a hand to caress Lizzie’s cheek. “Call me if you need anything, okay? You know where to find me.” 

Lizzie nodded. Hope placed a kiss on her forehead and leaned back, letting her get up. As Lizzie left the room, after turning around and seeing that the tribrid had already fallen back asleep, she couldn’t help but feel a little bit empty inside.

She trudged back to her room, dragging her feet on the ground. Lizzie didn’t know whether she would attend her classes today, and she was annoyed at her sister for always waking up at an unholy hour. _I could’ve gotten another hour of sleep at least._ She couldn’t really blame Josie, though. Lizzie had chosen to stay with Hope. She yawned. It was her first full day back and she was already feeling miserable. 

She got to her door and opened it quietly, letting out a relieved breath when she saw that Josie was still curled up in Lizzie’s bed. She laid down next to her sister, hoping that she would be able to fall back asleep until Josie woke up. Luck was clearly not on her side, however, because as soon as she shut her eyes Josie’s alarm went off. Her sister opened her eyes and stretched, shutting off her alarm and almost hitting Lizzie in the face with her arm. Lizzie caught her arm and Josie looked surprised to see that Lizzie was laying next to her; she looked around and remembered that she had fallen asleep in Lizzie’s bed. Josie looked at her sister for a long time, deciding whether she should continue their conversation or leave it for later and start getting ready for the day.

Lizzie knew what her sister was thinking and muttered, “Go to class, Jo. We can talk later.” Josie narrowed her eyes but ultimately relented. Lizzie buried herself under the covers and listened as the door shut. She then burst into tears; she hadn’t really mastered the whole “heightened emotions” thing and everything - the guilt, the sadness, the self- _hatred_ \- that she had avoided dealing with was now coming back tenfold. Her head felt heavy and she felt as though there was a weight on her chest. Lizzie thought that things were going to be fine; that she would be home with her family and they would reassure her that she wasn’t herself and they didn’t hate her for it, yet she hadn't heard a word from her parents. She couldn't decide if that was a good thing or a bad thing. She thought that she would be able to bounce back from it all. She wanted to walk through the halls with her head held high once again and attend her classes like a normal student; she wanted to have the courage to face Jed and apologize. She wanted to walk Hope to class and call Hope her girlfriend but she couldn’t do _any_ of that because she was too fragile and too afraid. Lizzie knew deep down that she did the right thing, and didn’t regret becoming a vampire, but she paid a very high cost - a cost that she believed was worth more than her own life; her happiness, her sanity. She risked losing both, but right now, she couldn’t bring herself to care. She wasn’t the same person that she was before, and she knew that she had come back more broken than ever. Not even Hope could save her now. 

Lizzie had stopped crying; all she wanted to do now was _hurt._ She needed to feel some sort of pain - something to prevent the numbness from setting in. 

* * *

Hope was beyond worried. She was also happy, happy that she and Lizzie were finally getting to a place where they could be something _more._ But worry took over as her main feeling. Lizzie obviously wasn’t okay, and Hope had no idea how to help her. She didn’t bring up Lizzie’s almost-episode in the bathroom, wanting to give the blonde some privacy, but Hope didn’t like the idea of Lizzie hurting herself to release the tension inside of her. She wanted to talk about it with Lizzie, and she needed Lizzie to open up to her. 

This was all Hope could think about while in class; everything felt tense. It was as though the school itself was holding its breath, waiting until Lizzie snapped. Word had gotten around that Lizzie had returned, and there were a lot of mixed emotions running around among the students. Some people were afraid that Lizzie would do the same thing to them as she did to Jed if they made her mad, others, especially the vampires, were paranoid that they would one day turn off their humanity like Lizzie and go on a rampage. Some of the werewolves were mad that one of their own was hurt, and Hope wouldn’t be surprised if they were seeking revenge. The twins were already on some of the witches’ bad sides merely for being siphoners, and Hope knew all too well how quickly people steered away from you if you were of more than one species. Lizzie wasn’t always known as a likeable person, always walking around with a mask of stoicism and hiding behind bitter remarks and insults, but no one ever believed that she would intentionally hurt anyone - until now. Hope knew that this information would deteriorate Lizzie’s already unstable mental health, but she couldn’t keep Lizzie locked up in her room forever, as much as she wanted to. She hoped that she would find Lizzie before trouble did.

Hope figured that Caroline would let Lizzie have the day off and decided to visit the blonde during lunch. Hope hadn’t seen her eat any real food since she got back and would bring her something to eat. Lizzie may be back at the school, but a part of Hope still missed her, missed _them_. She was broken out of her reverie by the bell that indicated that class was over. She made her way to the cafeteria, trying to get there before everyone else so she could grab some of the good stuff for Lizzie. She was leaving the cafeteria when she heard a commotion, and then saw a crowd gathering. Her heart dropped as she heard a familiar voice. 

“What do you want, Alyssa?” Lizzie looked bored. She had been wandering aimlessly around the school, hoping that someone would confront her, and that person came in the form of Alyssa Chang. 

Alyssa was furious. “What do I want? I want you to suffer for what you did to my boyfriend! You’re not getting off easy, Saltzman.” 

Lizzie tilted her head. She didn’t know that Alyssa and Jed had made things official, and she was kind of glad that they had, because who better than to attack the blonde than the annoying, bitchy, temperamental girlfriend of the guy whose arm she nearly ripped off. Alyssa put her hand out and cast a spell, sending Lizzie flying into a statue. Lizzie saw Alyssa’s spell coming from a mile away, and would have been fast enough to rip her head off under normal circumstances, but she was getting what she wanted: someone who would punish her for making other people suffer. Jed was just the beginning of the long list of sins that Lizzie needed to atone for. The least she could do was let Alyssa have her way with her, hoping that no one would intervene. 

“Come on, Chang, is that the best you’ve got? Maybe Jed should look for a more capable girlfriend.” 

Alyssa was infuriated. She looked at Lizzie laying on the ground with blood coming out of her mouth. She was a bit confused as to why someone as powerful as Lizzie wasn’t fighting back. Well, it’s not like it mattered anyway, as long as she brought Lizzie down to her knees. She sneered. “Get up, bitch. I’m not done with you.” Just as Lizzie rose to her feet, Alyssa cast an aneurysm spell, sending Lizzie right back down to her knees just like she wanted. 

Lizzie had used the aneurysm spell before, but experiencing it was a whole other story; the pain was nearly unbearable, but she tried not to let it show on her face. 

Hope had had enough. She put the food into her bag, deciding that Lizzie would need to regain her strength as soon as this was over, and pushed her way through the crowd. When she finally broke through she saw a bloody Lizzie clutching her head, with Alyssa Chang standing over her, arm outstretched.

“That’s enough, Alyssa.” Hope growled. Alyssa’s magic wavered at hearing the tribrid’s voice, and Hope used the momentary distraction to send Alyssa flying with a flick of her wrist. “You’ll leave if you know what’s good for you.” Hope was angry to the point where her eyes were glowing yellow. Alyssa didn’t stand a chance against an enraged Hope, so she high tailed it out of there. Hope looked around at the spectators. “Well! Don’t you have someplace you need to be!” 

The crowd dispersed until it was just Lizzie and Hope. Hope helped Lizzie get to her feet and walked her back to Hope’s room, neither girl saying anything. Lizzie maintained a blank expression the entire time, staring straight ahead and not daring to look at Hope. Hope opened her door using magic, shut it, and sat Lizzie down on the bed. She began to clean the blood off of Lizzie’s face and cast a healing spell to help with the lingering pain of the aneurysm spell. When she was done she grabbed Lizzie’s face and made the blonde look into her eyes. 

“What happened, Lizzie?” Hope whispered, looking deeply into Lizzie’s eyes and trying desperately to get her to let down her walls.

Lizzie shook her head, trying to clear it. She bit her lip and shrugged; she didn’t expect anyone to come to her rescue and couldn’t really explain to Hope how desperate she was to get the physical pain to outweigh the emotional pain. Lizzie could deal with the physical, after all she was a vampire, but she couldn’t deal with her emotions; there was no “fixing” her brain. 

“I was on a walk and Alyssa attacked me. I guess she wanted me to pay for what I did to Jed.” Hope clearly wasn’t satisfied with this answer, so Lizzie sighed and relented. “I need to face the consequences for what I did, Hope. I didn’t fight back because this is what I deserve. I deserve to be bodily harmed until the pain in my heart goes away. If it takes the entire school beating the crap out of me to do it, then fine.” It was Lizzie’s turn to look deeply into Hope’s eyes, attempting to communicate what she was feeling, and why she thought that this was the right thing to do. 

Hope couldn’t believe what she was hearing. She had thought that Lizzie destroying the bathroom was out of frustration, not self-punishment. Lizzie was a vampire with self-healing abilities; who knew how far she would go? When would the punishment end? Lizzie could keep this up for the next hundred years if she wanted to. No way in hell was Hope going to let that happen.

“Liz, you don’t get to decide what you deserve. You can’t play judge, jury, and executioner; you’ll cause yourself unnecessary pain in the long run, not just to yourself but the people around you. Do you think that I’m just going to stand there and let you be hurt? You are going to get so caught up in trying to seek punishment that you’ll stop noticing everything around you. We aren’t human - we don’t have a justice system. In our world, we do what we have to do and move on; we can’t think about things like consequences and deal with things the only way we can...by moving forward. You might never forget about the things that you’ve done, but there’s no use in dwelling on the past, trust me; I learned it the hard way, too.” Hope finished her speech, breathless, and she kissed Lizzie, trying to drive the point further home and letting her emotions run free. Lizzie got the message, kissing her back just as passionately. If Lizzie seeking retribution against herself would hurt the people she loved, then it was no longer an option. She had to break the cycle of hurt. She realized that the best way to atone for her sins would be to live with them every single day. 

They broke apart, taking a moment to just stare at each other. Hope could feel Lizzie’s energy change, and she saw the light in her eyes return. Hope was more than relieved that she was able to get through to Lizzie, but she knew that dealing with her trauma would take a bit longer. Seeing the acceptance and relief in Lizzie’s eyes lit up something in Hope, because she once again pulled Lizzie into a kiss, the moment becoming more heated. Lizzie was cautious this time, not knowing what Hope would be comfortable with. This time Hope was the one who slid her hands under Lizzie’s shirt, letting her know that she wanted this just as badly. Hope laid Lizzie down on the bed, whispering in her ear that she would take care of her. They shed their clothes, and spent the rest of the day losing themselves in each other, between gentle caresses, moans, kisses, and everything in between.

Hope didn’t care if Caroline or Alaric reprimanded her for missing classes; Lizzie was worth it. She deserved everything Hope had to offer, and Lizzie was more than happy to take what she could give. Lizzie didn’t feel like she had much to offer Hope, but the tribrid could see right through the self-doubt and was content with just _being_ with Lizzie. There was nothing holding them back anymore, and they had just taken a big step in their relationship. As Hope laid in bed, with a naked Lizzie sleeping soundly in her arms, she realized that she was much, much happier than she ever thought she’d be. They still had a long journey ahead of them, but right now, Hope was at peace laying with the girl that she loved.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lizzie made a major breakthrough here and we got Hope and Lizzie's first time together! 
> 
> What did you think? What would've happened had Lizzie continued to play god? Will she relapse? 
> 
> We're getting pretty close to the end here, folks, so bear with me :)
> 
> Don't be shy...leave a comment!


	12. Party Planning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took longer than usual! I'm blaming a bad case of writer's block and school.

Everything was perfect. Hope and Lizzie had made their relationship official and had full support from their friends and even Alaric and Caroline were on board. Caroline had been taking Lizzie out into the woods nightly to practice her new vampire powers and helped adjust her to animal blood. The latter had been slightly more difficult; Lizzie had become a bit moody without human blood and nearly got into another fight with Alyssa Chang. However, Lizzie eventually got over that obstacle and went back to being her regular self. She even went looking for Jed to apologize; he nearly ran at the sight of her but after hearing her out, he accepted her apology, patted her on the back, and they went about their way.

For Lizzie, getting back into her normal schedule was hard at first, and her first few days were riddled with anxiety and weird looks from the other students. Caroline had adjusted her classes so she’d also be taking vampire classes, meaning that she had more classes with Hope, which both girls were happy about, but she had less classes with Josie, which Josie wasn’t happy about. Lizzie was slightly relieved that she wouldn’t have to deal with her sister’s mix of worried glances and angry stares. The twins had talked about everything and while they agreed to move forward and focus on themselves a lot more now that the Merge wasn’t a problem anymore, a part of Josie was still mad at her sister. She pretty much killed Lizzie during the mock-Merge when she was using black magic, and felt extremely guilty afterward, and now Lizzie had gone and thrown herself off the roof, dying for real this time. Josie nearly lost her sister twice now; the second time being due to Lizzie’s humanity-less rampage, so she couldn’t help but be a little frustrated with her sister. Josie had also explained that when Lizzie died, she felt as though a string was cut, that string being their twin bond. They could no longer feel each other anymore, due to one of them being dead. It was hard for both girls; it felt like losing someone who was still there, who was just out of reach. They both knew that it would take time to get used to their new normal, but overall they were happy that neither girl had a death sentence hanging over their head. As for Josie’s part, she was just glad that she had her sister back.

As for Hope and Lizzie’s relationship, it felt like a dream come true to both girls; they were getting the love that they had always dreamed of, after months of pining and knowing smirks and nudges from their friends. They never intended on keeping them a secret, but going public had come in the form of Hope accidentally kissing Lizzie in the hallway, and when no one batted an eye, they realized that there was no point in trying to hide it. They had annoyed their friends at first with their love-struck staring and not being able to go ten seconds without touching each other, but they were happy for their two idiot friends who had finally gotten their act together. Whenever Hope saw Landon, however, he always looked at her a little wistfully; Hope knew he felt bad about the way their relationship ended, but she couldn’t bring herself to feel bad, as she was the happiest she had ever been and Lizzie was giving her everything that Landon couldn’t. She and Lizzie spent most of their time in Hope’s room, away from Lizzie’s family’s prying eyes and Landon’s longing stares; after a long day, it was nice for Hope to come back and be alone with her girlfriend for a bit. That’s where they found themselves now, after a particularly exhausting day. 

They were both on Hope’s bed, each girl trying to write an essay for their Vampire Studies class. Lizzie had been staring at the prompt for around half an hour, but kept getting distracted by Hope, who had a tendency to strip down to the bare minimum of clothing after they had gotten out of class. She didn’t do it on purpose, she was just a werewolf who ran hot. 

“Babe, focus.” Hope tapped the paper in front of Lizzie with her pencil, breaking her out of her thoughts.

Lizzie rolled her eyes. “But it’s so boring!” She complained. She made a show of biting her lip and looking Hope up and down, who was wearing nothing but a bra and some dangerously short shorts. “I’d rather do something else.” 

Hope chuckled. “This paper’s due tomorrow and I’d hate for you to fail. Your parents are going to think that I’m a bad influence.” Hope would be lying if she said she didn’t like the way Lizzie was looking at her. This particular look often led to sex, and as of recently, vampire sex. When they both realized that they could use their super strength and speed to their advantage, their bedroom time got a lot more exciting. However, one of them needed to keep their priorities straight, and Hope wasn’t going to let Lizzie get away with not doing her homework considering she missed over a week of school, as much as Hope wanted to slam her girlfriend into the mattress.

Lizzie pouted. “Well how can I focus when you’re wearing _that?_ ” 

“It’s not something you haven’t seen _before_.” Hope teased. She kissed the blonde’s cheek. “How about we take a little break and talk about something else? Like...the party?” 

Lizzie groaned and put her face in her hands. _The damn party,_ Lizzie thought. The twins’ 18th birthday was coming up and Lizzie had been postponing the planning of the party, which had everyone they knew very worried, since Lizzie was known to be a control freak and planned everything to the smallest detail. In fact, Lizzie brushed off even the _mention_ of the party. She delegated Josie as party planner, who was shocked to say the very least that Lizzie was entrusting her with their birthday plans and enlisted the help of their mother when it was clear that Lizzie wanted nothing to do with it. Hope had no idea why Lizzie was acting so strange about it, and had been trying to get her girlfriend to talk about it for days with no such luck. 

“Come on, Liz, talk to me. Why are you acting so weird about it?” Hope pried Lizzie’s hands from her face.

“It’s just…” Lizzie shook her head. “It doesn’t feel right. I stopped aging at 17, just like my mom, and I’m pretty sure she hasn’t celebrated her birthday since. There’s no point, not when I’m eventually going to stop keeping track of how old I am anyway. It’s really only Josie’s birthday that we’re celebrating. Besides, our last two birthdays were horrendous, and I don’t need anything else happening for this one ” 

“That’s why you’re letting Josie plan the party, so she’ll have a chance to include what she wants.” Hope leaned Lizzie’s head on her shoulder. “Your family, especially Josie, would hate that you’re not celebrating with them, and you have the right to, as much as your sister does. It would just be a reminder that you’re eventually going to stop having birthdays together, so spend as many as you can with Josie.” 

Lizzie nodded. “You’re right. I can try to be happy about it, at least for Josie’s sake, but I can’t guarantee that I won’t still feel weird about it.” 

Hope rubbed her back. “That’s all I ask.” She grabbed Lizzie’s essay paper and put it back into her hands. “Come on, let’s finish this.” She whispered in Lizzie’s ear, “Then we can have sex.”

Lizzie perked up at that and snatched a book from Hope’s bedside table, turning to a random page. Hope giggled and shook her head at her girlfriend's antics. As she watched Lizzie scribble down what was most likely nonsense, Hope laughed internally and wondered how, and when, she became so lucky to have gotten to a point in her life where she was in a stable relationship and her demons no longer plagued her every waking moment. At this thought, she cuddled up to Lizzie and held her tight, never wanting to let go.

* * *

Meanwhile, Josie was struggling with the party planning. She was a little concerned when Lizzie had asked her to take over, with her exact words being: “Do what you want, Jo.” It worried her enough to the point where she had gone to her mother to express her concerns. Caroline understood why Lizzie didn’t want to deal with it, and she was more than happy to help Josie when she asked for her assistance. Caroline had missed the girls’ past two birthdays, which, based on what she had heard, were nothing short of traumatic, and she was determined to make this one special; her girls would officially become adults and she found herself getting emotional on several occasions. _When did I become so soft?,_ Caroline asked herself. 

Josie, on her part, was panicking. She only had another three days until the party and she hadn’t done even half of what she had scheduled herself to do. She wondered how her sister ever did this regularly, with little to no trouble at all. She wanted to ask Lizzie why she wasn’t planning it, but her twin didn’t seem to want to talk about it, so Josie brushed it aside. She was more than relieved when her mother had accepted her desperate plea for help. Between the two of them, almost everything off of Josie’s list for the day had been checked off. Even though Lizzie didn’t really care about the party, Josie wanted to make sure that it would be up to her sister’s standards, and because of what Lizzie had been through recently, she figured that Lizzie needed a bit of fun to take her mind off things.

“Mom, did we book the DJ?” Josie asked as she taped balloons to the wall. Caroline looked at her, wide-eyed. Josie was three seconds away from screaming (or crying), when Caroline burst into laughter. 

“Yes, sweetie, I did it yesterday.” Josie huffed. She had forgotten how much of a prankster her mother was, considering her father was the exact opposite. 

“Relax, honey, everything’s going to be okay. It’s just a party.” Josie climbed down the ladder and approached her mother. 

“Mom, it is _not_ just a party-” Josie cut herself off. She realized that this was something Lizzie, when she was obsessing over the details, would say. _Oh god, I’m turning into my sister!_

Caroline saw the horrified look on her daughter’s face and smiled, patting her shoulder; whether it was to express her sympathy or offer comfort, neither of them knew.

Josie broke out of her trance and looked at the clock. “It’s 3:30! Where are the tables and chairs? They should’ve been delivered by now!” Caroline watched her daughter speed off to god-knows-where, looking at the clock and seeing that it was actually 2:30. She laughed and shook her head; her daughter was...nervous, to say the least. With that thought, she walked back to her office, giving herself an hour before she heard from Josie again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you guys enjoyed this little filler chapter! 
> 
> It's a set up for the twins' party next chapter and how Lizzie feels about it
> 
> As always don't forget to comment! See you soon!


	13. The Final Chapter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is it, everyone! Hope you enjoy this last chapter :)

It was a few hours before the party and Lizzie was feeling restless. She and Hope had spent the day in town, shopping for outfits and just spending time together. Lizzie had made a show of talking about the party, pretending to be interested when in reality she planned to leave as soon as possible. She hadn’t told Hope, of course; Lizzie hadn’t been feeling like herself lately and she didn’t want to give her girlfriend another thing to worry about. Besides, she had a feeling that Josie had asked Hope for her input about the party. 

She was just finishing the last touches of her makeup when Josie burst through the door of their room, already dressed and clipboard in hand. She had been running around the school for the past hour making sure everything was ready and in its place. 

“Lizzie,” Josie gasped, out of breath. “Are you ready?” 

Lizzie gave her sister a small smile. “Almost, Jo.” 

Josie nodded around a dozen times. Lizzie walked up to her sister and put her hands on her shoulders. “Relax, Josie. There’s nothing to stress about; I’ll love whatever you planned.” 

  
Josie’s tense shoulders dropped. She took a deep breath and looked up at her twin. “I just want you to have a good time. Just one night where we can stop _thinking_ and just enjoy ourselves.”

Lizzie nodded. She had no intention of “enjoying herself” but she wanted to give her sister the benefit of the doubt, considering how hard she had worked on this event. It almost made Lizzie feel bad about leaving, but she was feeling too anxious to worry about it. She turned away from Josie, used her vampire speed and sped across the room, back into her chair to finish her makeup. 

Josie shook her head. “I’m never going to get used to that, am I?” 

“Nope,” Lizzie said over her shoulder. 

Josie hadn’t really seen Lizzie use her abilities, apart from the couple of times she accompanied Lizzie and their mother for her sister’s “vampire training”. Josie knew her sister was scared of using too much of her powers, and even she was a bit afraid of Lizzie at first, but that fear turned into admiration and she looked forward to the day where Lizzie would show everyone that she’s a lot more powerful than people give her credit for. She tilted her head and smiled, her eyes meeting Lizzie’s in the mirror. “Don’t be late, Liz.”

When Lizzie heard the door shut, she turned to the mirror and sighed. She took a good look at herself in the mirror; she really did look like a dead woman walking. Lizzie wondered how her mother could look so full of life despite being technically dead for the past twenty years or so. She heard a knock at the door and perked up, readying herself to face whoever it was. 

Hope walked in through the door, wearing a near-skin tight strapless red dress that perfectly accented her curves, which she styled with black heels; her long auburn hair was flowing down her shoulders and Lizzie had never seen anything more beautiful in her life. Lizzie herself was wearing a dark blue dress, similar to Hope’s, though not as tight, but still short enough to ban her from every school or church in the area. She had styled her blonde hair in waves and Hope thought it looked like the sun rising over the sea. They spent a long time staring at each other until Hope snapped out of her trance and cleared her throat.

“You...you look stunning, Liz.” 

Lizzie stepped forward and took Hope’s hands. “So do you, my love. I can’t believe my girlfriend’s out-dressing me at my own party.” 

Hope blushed and gave her a big grin. Lizzie always knew what to say or do to get her to fall in love all over again. “Have to look my best for the best girlfriend ever on her birthday, don’t you think?” She kissed Lizzie and led her out the door. “Come on, everyone’s waiting.” 

When they arrived outside of the gym they saw Josie and Caroline standing in front of the door, waiting for Lizzie. The mother-daughter duo turned their heads in the direction of the couple and Josie sighed in relief. Caroline made eye contact with Lizzie and gave her a knowing look, which made Lizzie look away. This exchange didn’t go unnoticed by Hope, however, who looked at her girlfriend in confusion. Before she could say anything, Caroline walked up to Lizzie and led her by the shoulders next to Josie. 

Caroline took a step back to look at her daughters. Josie anticipated the water works and fondly rolled her eyes at her mother. “Mom…” 

“I’m sorry, I won’t cry. I promise.” Caroline fanned at her eyes to dry her unshed tears. She turned to Hope. “We should get in there.”

Hope nodded. She kissed Lizzie’s cheek. “I’ll see you soon, okay?” 

Lizzie squeezed her hand and watched as Hope and her mother walked away. She felt Josie nudge her and turned to her sister. 

“Are you sure you’re okay, Lizzie?”

The last thing Lizzie wanted to do was disappoint her sister, so she gave her the fakest smile she could muster and exclaimed, “Absolutely! Let’s do this.” Josie’s face lit up and she nodded eagerly. She looped her arm around Lizzie’s and watched as the gym doors opened, revealing a room full of people, a huge dance floor, extravagant decorations, and multi-colored lights. Lizzie spotted her parents in the corner and she could swear that she saw her mother crying; she saw her friends - MG and Kaleb drinking the punch and talking with Landon and Rafael - and she saw Hope, looking at her with pure love in her eyes. 

Lizzie turned to Josie, surprise clearly written on her face. “You did all this? This is amazing, Jo.” 

Josie was overjoyed to hear that her sister was happy with the way the party turned out. Once the DJ announced their arrival they went their separate ways; Josie went to talk to some of her witch friends and Lizzie looked for Hope in the crowd, finally spotting her talking to MG. As she reached her, music started playing; MG went to dance with the other vampires and Hope turned around, as if she sensed Lizzie approaching. She wordlessly grabbed Lizzie’s hand and dragged her to the dance floor, pulling her body close. Lizzie let herself have fun; knowing that everyone she cared about was in the same room and having a great time at her party helped put her mind at ease, just a little. 

After dancing to a few songs, with Josie and MG joining them for a couple of them, Hope and Lizzie left the dance floor, tired. Hope told Lizzie that she had to use the bathroom, and once she was gone, Lizzie took a good look at everything around her. She saw Josie still on the dance floor; someone had placed a tiara that was sitting crookedly on her head. Lizzie had to laugh at that. She even saw Alyssa and Jed dancing, and it seemed like Jed’s arm had fully healed by now. She also saw her parents; Caroline had dragged Alaric to the dance floor and a circle was quickly forming around them. It was quite the sight; Lizzie knew her mother had moves, but seeing her dad trying to let loose was something she’d never thought she’d see. She suddenly felt like time was slowing down, like she was being suffocated. She felt hot and the room felt too small; she didn’t want to bring attention to herself and ruin everyone’s fun, so she left, hoping that no one’s eyes were on her.

Lizzie was starving and on edge, so she made her way to the kitchen, where they kept the blood bags. She grabbed one and started drinking; she heard a noise behind her, and she spun around, ready to reprimand whoever it was. She deflated when she saw that it was her mother. Lizzie should’ve known better - her mom never missed a damn thing. 

Caroline silently walked up to her daughter and hugged her. Lizzie fell limply into her arms, trying not to cry. 

“What’s wrong with me, Mom?” Lizzie asked weakly. 

Caroline stroked her daughter’s hair. She replied softly, “Nothing’s wrong with you, Lizzie. You’ve been through so much. You’re so strong, baby.”

Lizzie shook her head. She didn’t feel strong; she felt like the weakest person in the world. She was also embarrassed - embarrassed that her mom had to leave the party to track her down. She broke free from her mom’s embrace. “I’ll be okay, Mom. Go back to the party.” She tried to sound convincing, but her mother always saw right through her. 

Caroline didn’t want to leave her daughter, but Lizzie didn’t want the company and Alaric couldn’t handle a room full of teenagers alone. “Once you’re ready, come back to the party.” She kissed Lizzie’s forehead and reluctantly left the kitchen. 

Lizzie finished the blood bag and burned it. She wouldn’t go back to the festivities, opting to get some fresh air and try to calm herself down.

* * *

Hope was having an amazing time. Her past self would never have been caught dead at a social event, now here she was, at a party. She had grown so much since her parents died and she attributed a lot of it to Lizzie. It was the blonde who told her that no one would be better off without her, who saved her life in more ways than one, and it was Lizzie who taught her how to deal with her overwhelming emotions. The love she had for Elizabeth Saltzman was immeasurable and incomparable. 

Her girlfriend looked incredible, always managing to look good in everything she wears. They had walked to the gym silently, hand in hand, and Hope had been thinking about how before, she couldn’t have cared less about childish things such as birthdays; now, she was more than happy to be a part of this one. Something that had confused her, though, was the look Caroline gave Lizzie. What did Caroline know that Hope didn’t? Was Lizzie hiding something from her? She didn’t have time to ponder on it when Caroline dragged Lizzie to her sister. Hope had been reluctant to leave her girlfriend, wanting to be with her when she entered the gym, but she understood that this particular birthday was different for everyone, so she let the twins have their moment. When they walked in, Hope couldn’t help but feel pride; Lizzie had every opportunity to give up and let her problems consume her, like when her disorder became too much for her, yet she kept going, trying to better herself each day.

She took her eyes off of Lizzie when MG came by to talk to her. After a few minutes he looked up and told her that he’d talk to her later; Hope smiled to herself and turned around, knowing exactly who it was. Hope heard the DJ start the music, and didn’t hesitate to drag the blonde to dance. She let her hands roam Lizzie’s body as much as she could with a bunch of people and Lizzie’s parents in the room. She and Lizzie eventually danced their hearts out, and Hope needed to step out for a second to use the bathroom. She told Lizzie she needed to go and walked out of the gym, but not before looking back and seeing Lizzie stare into the crowd. 

When she returned her girlfriend was nowhere in sight. She walked up to Josie, who was getting something to drink, and asked her where Lizzie was. 

“I don’t know!” Josie yelled over the noise. “Maybe she went to the bathroom or something?” That was the last thing Josie said before being dragged back into the crowd. Hope frowned. She had just come from the bathroom and Lizzie wasn’t there. She then saw Caroline leave the gym, and Hope couldn’t help but feel like something was wrong. She was interrupted from her thoughts when someone tapped her shoulder. 

“Wanna dance?” It was Landon. He must’ve seen Hope by herself and decided to take a chance; his eyes looked hopeful.

“Sorry, Landon, I’m trying to find Lizzie.” The light in his eyes dimmed and Hope looked over to Rafael, who got the message and dragged Landon away, shooting an apologetic glance over his shoulder. 

Hope saw Caroline return to the party, looking worried and distracted; she decided to leave the party and look for Lizzie. She started with the twins’ room, and after finding it empty, she tried her own room, on the off chance that Lizzie would be waiting there for her. Still nothing. Hope’s heart started to race; she remembered the last time Lizzie disappeared and what happened afterwards. She used her vampire speed and sped through the library, kitchen, and just about everywhere else in the school. 

_Where could she be?_

* * *

Lizzie stormed out of the school, into the cool night air. She tried to take a deep breath and failed, her breathing still shallow. She decided to take a walk. As she trudged into the woods, she noticed the grass parting around where she stepped, meaning her magic was starting to react. She walked a bit faster; she wanted to be as far away from the school as possible in case she lost control of her magic. She walked and walked until she found herself at a local playground, located somewhere she’d never been to before. Lizzie saw down on one of the swings, slightly rocking herself back and forth and trying to breath in time with her swings. 

Once again, she heard someone behind her; this time, she didn’t bother to turn around, even as she felt warm arms wrap around her and lips softly kissing her neck. 

Hope let out a breath when she finally found Lizzie. In her panic, she somehow forgot that she was part werewolf and could use Lizzie’s scent to track her, which led her to a park on the outskirts of Mystic Falls. She saw Lizzie staring at the ground and hyperventilating. She hugged Lizzie from behind, and realized how out of it she was when her girlfriend didn’t react. 

“Liz?” Nothing.

“Lizzie.” Hope had never seen Lizzie like this before and it scared her. “Come on, babe, talk to me.” 

Lizzie looked up at her and blinked, finally showing some signs of life. “Hope? What are you doing here?” 

Hope smiled at her. “You didn’t think you could get away from me, could you?” she teased. “Why didn’t you tell me you wanted to leave the party? I would’ve come with you.” 

Lizzie shook her head. “I never wanted to go to begin with. But I-I saw how excited everyone was so I decided to go, but I didn’t plan on staying for long.” Her breathing started to speed up again. “It hit me so suddenly and...and I felt like I couldn’t _breathe._ I’m sorry..I-” 

“You have nothing to apologize for, Liz. I understand.” Hope cupped Lizzie’s cheek and Lizzie nuzzled into her touch. “Breathe with me, okay?” 

After a few minutes, Lizzie started to breathe normally. Hope stood up and extended her hand. “Come on, let’s go back to my room.”

Lizzie let Hope lead her back to the school, not missing the occasional worried glances coming from her girlfriend. Luckily, the party was still raging, so they walked through the silent halls, neither girl saying a word. Hope knew there was no way Lizzie wanted to go back to the party, and she wasn’t going to leave her alone. When they entered Hope’s room, Hope gave Lizzie some spare clothes; both girls changed into pajamas and climbed into bed, Lizzie taking up her usual spot in Hope’s arms. 

Eventually Lizzie was the one that broke the silence. “I thought I was getting better.” 

“You are, Liz. One setback isn’t going to destroy any of the progress you’ve made.” Hope stroked Lizzie’s arm softly. “I don’t think I’ve ever told you this...but I am proud of you. At the end of the day, it’s easy to just want to lay down and die. It’s easy to spiral and think about what it would be like to just be normal.” 

  
Lizzie sniffled. “Why me? I was cursed with this stupid, dysfunctional brain, and _literally_ cursed to kill my sister or die. Now...everything’s fine; I have everything I’ve ever wanted, so why am I so frustrated with my life?” She added quietly, “What did I do to deserve this?”

“You haven’t done anything wrong,” Hope reassured her. “We don’t choose what family we’re born into and we sure as hell can’t control our brain chemistry. People cope in different ways. Maybe you just haven’t found yours yet. You’re allowed to be upset, because no one knows what runs through your head but you. I know your brain lies to you and tells you horrible things, so I want you to hear it from me: I will never abandon you, Lizzie. I wish I could show you just how much I love you but I do. I love you, and I don’t think I can ever love anyone else. I don’t want to.” 

Lizzie hugged her tighter after hearing those words. She had felt like an idiot, being upset over what seemed like nothing when Hope had been through so much more than Lizzie could ever imagine. The same girl who had lost her parents, jumped into a bottomless mud pit, and risked her life on a regular basis trying to protect everyone was telling Lizzie that her own feelings were valid.

“Thank you, Hope. I guess I really needed to hear that today. I love you, so much.” Lizzie felt like she needed to say more; since the beginning of their relationship, maybe even before, Hope had been more vulnerable with her than she had ever been with anyone else. Lizzie knew she didn’t have to say anything though, because Hope always understood her. 

Hope leaned down and kissed her. “You’re not getting rid of me anytime soon,” she joked. “We’re both vampires, so you’re stuck with me forever.” 

  
Lizzie giggled. She was more than okay with that. She was happy to spend the next hundred years or so with the love of her life. They’re still young, and there are definitely more hardships coming their way, but as long as they had each other, they were unstoppable. Lizzie thought she had given up her fairytale ending when she became a vampire, but maybe she was wrong. Maybe she and Hope _will_ ride off into the sunset together, eventually; she didn’t mind if it took centuries, with the promise of bloodshed and tears - Hope made her feel complete, and Lizzie will be by Hope’s side for as long as she wanted her. As Hope drifted off to sleep, Lizzie thought about their future; new enemies are bound to appear, and things will get tense, but they’ll always work out their problems. After all, they had an eternity to do so.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, the end! 
> 
> Thank you to everyone who chose to read my little fic. This was my first fic so your comments and kudos really helped me keep writing! 
> 
> I may write another one so I hope some of you join me in my next story :)
> 
> This doesn't need to be said by now...but let me know your thoughts!

**Author's Note:**

> Let me know what you think!


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